194 year-old tortoise

Meet Jonathan - he is slow and steady — and winning the race against time. A 194-year-old tortoise was just honored with Guinness World Records’ prestigious ICON award. Born around 1832, Jonathan, the world’s oldest living land animal, was given the title in the record book's latest edition. The Seychelles giant tortoise, who lives in Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is also the oldest turtle ever recorded. The local legend has lived at the Plantation House, the official residence of the Governor of Saint Helena, since arriving there in 1882 at the age of 50. The remarkable reptile was sent there from his native Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, as a gift for the incoming governor, and has since been there for 31 governors’ terms. For generations, he has been regarded as a local icon, deeply embedded in the island’s identity and collective memory. This global acknowledgement reflects what the community has long known, that Jonathan is not only remarkable in age, but truly special to St. Helena and its people. In 2022, Jonathan’s birthday was listed as Dec. 4, 1832. Although he’s lost his senses of sight and smell, the elderly creature is healthy — so much so that his DNA is being analyzed for its secrets to longevity.