At the beginning of the year it was included in the Guinness Book of Records -The 4,500 inhabitants of St. Helena will celebrate the birthday with a three-day extravaganza, starting today
Jonathan, the oldest turtle in the world, is turning 190 years old on the island of St. Helens, a British territory in the Atlantic Ocean, where the residents are already celebrating his birthday today.
“If you think about it, if it was hatched in 1832, during the Victorian Era… Oh my God, how much has changed in the world since then!” commented Joe Hollins, the retired island veterinarian who cares for the turtle. “World Wars, the rise and fall of the British Empire, how many rulers, kings and queens, it’s amazing,” he listed.
Jonathan is “at least” 190 years old and earlier this year was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living land animal. Since 1882 he has been living on St. Helena and a photograph taken when he arrived on the island shows that he was then at least 50 years old. Experts estimate that he is definitely older.
Jonathan has seen 35 governors pass through this island, but he did not catch up with Napoleon who was exiled to St. Helena from 1815 to 1821. Today, now blind, with no sense of smell but with his hearing intact, he is housed in the garden of governor’s residence, along with three other, much younger turtles, David, Emma and Fred.
“I regularly hear him on the lawn making out with Emma. But I have to watch them when they go into action because the turtles can flip over and not be able to get back up. They didn’t include that in my job description!” stated in 2017, with a good dose of humor, the then governor of the island, Lisa Phillips
The 4,500 residents of Agia Eleni will celebrate their birthday with a three-day extravaganza, starting today. On Sunday he will be presented with a special birthday “cake” and a stamp has been issued in his honor. Jonathan is already featured on 5 cent coins and immigration stamps.
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