A day in the life of the oldest living animal on Earth – Times of India

This earth has seen some tremendous changes over the last two centuries; however, one fantastic creature that lived through the whole of it is a land animal. Meet Jonathan, the world’s oldest tortoise who this year entered his 191st birthday with the maximum Guinness World Record as the oldest land animal alive on Earth. Jonathan is a giant tortoise from Seychelles and holds the distinction of being the oldest in the species.While a giant tortoise typically lives for 150 years, Jonathan, amazingly, outlived that by more than four decades.
He is estimated to have been born around 1832, a time long before the invention of the telephone, lightbulb, and postage stamp. During his long life, he has lived through the tenure of 40 U.S. presidents and 31 governors of Saint Helena, the small Atlantic island he calls home. Saint Helena is famously known as the final abode of Napoleon Bonaparte who died there in exile after the defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. Only 42 years had passed since Napoleon’s remains were moved from Saint Helena to Paris when Jonathan arrived on the island.

Jonathan’s long life has made him a celebrity on the island, where his portrait is on the five-pence coin. As he is the oldest creature of land animal in the world, his case is out of the ordinary and, therefore, has earned him many accolades and attention.
Jonathan’s age cannot be determined, although he was well-grown when he was presented to the governor of Saint Helena from Seychelles in 1882. According to the findings by experts, he must have been over 50 years old then. Last year, Saint Helena Governor Nigel Phillips finally declared that Jonathan’s birthday was December 4, 1832; however, most people believe that he must have been older than this age. The Seychelles giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa) are said to live for about 150 years on average.

According to Jonathan’s veterinarian for twenty years, Joe Hollins, quoted by Guinness World Records, “no sign of slowing down.”
“In spite of losing his sense of smell and being virtually blind from cataracts, his appetite remains keen,” says his veterinarian “He is still being hand-fed once a week with a fortifying helping of fruit and vegetables by a small, dedicated team. This not only supplements his calories but provides those essential drivers of his metabolism: vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.” Hollins tells GWR.

Jonathan lives on the grounds of the governor’s mansion on Saint Helena Island, a British dependency near southwest Africa. The island attracts hundreds of visitors each year to catch a glimpse of Jonathan and his friends other tortoises in their fifties. These guys are relatively spry compared to their friends.

Jonathan has two separate Guinness World Records under his name: one regarding him being the oldest land animal and the other is that he is the oldest chelonian, which means turtles, terrapins, and tortoises. According to the Guinness World Records, the age is only an estimate, and his age might be above 191 years.
Jonathan the tortoise weighs about 182 kgs, and he has enjoyed good care from veterinarian Joe Hollins. As The Washington Post penned about Jonathan, Joe Hollins said, “It astounds me to think there is no living creature on the surface of this planet that was in existence before him.”