Meet Jonathan the tortoise, Earth’s most ancient land animal
Jonathan has cataracts and has lost his sense of smell, but it’s party time for the Seychelles Giant tortoise at his St Helena home as Earth’s oldest living land animal gets a 190th birthday party
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Jonathan the tortoise has celebrated his 190th birthday as he extends his run as the oldest living land animal in the world.
Jonathan first arrived in his current home on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic in 1882 as a gift to the governor* of the island, which is a British territory*.
He was thought to be aged at least 50 at the time because his species, the Seychelles* Giant tortoise, reaches full maturity by this age and 120cm-long Jonathan has not grown any bigger since his arrival on the island. But some naturalists* believe he could be even older.
His age means Jonathan was just a youngster when Queen Victoria – Britain’s second-longest reigning monarch – took the throne, and he outlived both World Wars. He is older than the first photograph and has lived through the governments of all 31 Australian Prime Ministers.
Despite his long life, Jonathan only gained international attention in 2008 when newspaper The Independent reported on his then-remarkable age of 176. At that stage he had already outlived the 150 years life expectancy of Seychelles Giant tortoises.
While Jonathan’s exact date of birth remains unknown, the island’s governor, Nigel Phillips, granted him an official birthday only last month – December 4, 1832.
Locals organised a number of events to commemorate Jonathan’s birthday over a three-day celebration.
Jonathan, who is now blind with cataracts* and lacks a sense of smell, is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the oldest known living land animal and the oldest ever recorded chelonian – an order of reptile including tortoises, turtles and terrapins.
He has lived most of his life at the governor’s plantation* house, according to the island’s website, which adds that the tortoise could also be considered a national symbol for the island. Jonathan’s image even adorns the back side of a Saint Helena five pence coin.
Scientists have even studied Jonathan to determine what health benefits they might gather from his diet and his cells. Because his cells do not mutate* the same way the cells of humans do, scientists hope he could reveal some secret to fighting cancer in humans.
Jonathan shares his home with three other tortoises: Emma, a 54-year-old female; David, a 54-year-old male; and Frederika, a 31-year-old tortoise originally called Frederik that is now thought to be female. The first two arrived in 1969, and Frederika arrived in 1991.
Jonathan last year surpassed* the previous record-holder for oldest living land animal, a Madagascar tortoise named Tu’i Malila, who was given to the Tonga royal family in 1777 and died in 1965 at the age of 188 years old, according to Smithsonian magazine.
This article was originally published by Fox News and reproduced with permission
GLOSSARY
- governor: person in charge of an organisation or of a particular political unit
- British territory: governed by the UK but lying outside the British Isles
- Seychelles: republic of over 100 islands in the Indian Ocean
- naturalists: person who is expert or interested in botany or zoology
- cataracts: clouding of the lens of the eye
- plantation: large farm or estate in a tropical or semitropical zone
- mutate: undergo change, develop new physical characteristics because of changes in genes
- surpassed: to do or be better or more than something else
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Turtles taken by mystery predator
QUICK QUIZ
- Seychelles Giant tortoises reach full maturity at what age?
- What is the life expectancy of the species?
- Jonathan’s image appears on the back of what?
- Why do scientists hope Jonathan could reveal some secrets to fighting cancer in humans?
- What are the names and ages of the three other tortoises that live alongside Jonathan?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Long life
The average human life expectancy in Britain is 81 years. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of humans living to 190 years old like Jonathan the tortoise? Work with a partner and write your list below?
ADVANTAGES:
DISADVANTAGES:
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Personal and Social; Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
What health advice might Jonathan the tortoise give, if he could speak, on how he’s managed to live such a long life?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Health and Physical Education; Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Stretch your sentence
Find a “who” in the cartoon – a person or an animal. Write it down.
Add three adjectives to describe them better.
Now add a verb to your list. What are they doing?
Add an adverb about how they are doing the action.
Using all the words listed, create one descriptive sentence.