Jonathan The Giant Tortoise May Be The Oldest Living Land Animal On Earth

May 25, 2017

It's pretty much impossible to avoid thinking about your own mortality from time to time. Yet, as important as it is to remember that life is short, the truth is that our lifespans as humans are much longer than that of many other animals.

Tortoises, however, are an exception. They're known for living even longer than humans... but there is one tortoise in particular who is so old, that it's hard to believe he's real.

Don't be mistaken: Jonathan, the giant tortoise in question, is definitely real, and he's still very much alive!

This big handsome guy is Jonathan the giant tortoise. The photo of him on the left was taken in 1902. At the time, he was already 70 years old. Many humans would be lucky to live as long as he did at that point!

When Jonathan was brought to his home on the island of Saint Helena Island in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1882, he was already a fully sized adult. To be fair, it takes giant tortoises about 50 years to reach their adult size.

This means that he was born around 1832. Of course, Jonathan is probably not as "quick" on his feet as he used to be, but that's because he may very well be the oldest living tortoise on Earth—which could only mean one thing...

That's right: Jonathan is, quite possibly, the oldest living land animal on the planet. And at 185 years old, he is still going strong. He may be old, but he sure has a lot of life left in him!