Wednesday was a very special day for Jonathan, the 194-year-old Saint Helena tortoise. The oldest land animal in the world was given the title of ‘Guinness World Records Icon’. “A well-deserved honor for our country’s most famous resident,” writes the Saint Helena tourism office.
Source: The Straits Times
Jonathan is a giant tortoise from the Seychelles, a species with a life expectancy of 150 years. But Jonathan would have been born in 1832. That makes him older than the Eiffel Tower and the Victorian era. Local vets say Jonathan remains in good health and has a healthy appetite, although he has lost his sense of smell due to old age.
Nigel Phillips, Governor of Saint Helena, says the global recognition confirms what the community has long known: Jonathan is not only remarkable for his age, but also special to the island and its people. According to Guinness, he “spends his days happily with three other tortoises in the gardens of the governor’s residence, eating grass and lazing in the sun.”
Jonathan, better known locally as “old Jono”, was already 50 years old when he was brought to Saint Helena from the Seychelles in 1882 as a gift for the future governor, together with three other tortoises.
The Guinness World Records Icons award goes to record holders, pioneers and internationally important figures with a lasting impact. In addition to Jonathan, Guinness also awarded the award to, among others, the South Korean girl band Blackpink, former wrestler and actor John Cena and the Nepalese mountain climber Hari Budha Magar, who lost both legs above the knee and set a record.