Meet 192-Year-Old Jonathan, World's Oldest Living Tortoise Who Weighs 182 Kgs Heavy, Is Blind But...

Social media is fascinated to scroll through pictures of world's oldest living land animal - a giant tortoise named Jonathan, who is Seychelles giant tortoise. It's a subspecies of the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea). His age is estimated to be 192 as of 2025, making him the oldest known living land animal. Currently, Jonathan resides on the island of Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Let's find out some fun facts about Jonathan:

(Pic Courtesy: sthelenatourism.com/Wikipedia)

World's Oldest Living Tortoise is aged 192 years old, and has even met several members from the British family. Jonathan resides in the grounds of Plantation House, the official residence of the Governor of St Helena - a British-run island in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

According to the Guinness World Records, Jonathan is the oldest known land animal in the world. Although his exact age is unknown, a photograph taken in 1882 shows that when he was originally brought to the island he was already fully grown.

According to BBC, Jonathan has lived through a number of major historical events, including the first photograph of a person (1838), the building of the Eiffel Tower (1887), the first people to walk on the moon (1969) and the launch of Newsround (1972).

The giant tortoise has met several members of the British royal family over the years - including King George IV, his wife the Queen Mother, his daughters Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth II and finally the former Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip.

BBC quoted his long-time vet, Joe Hollins who said that tortoise appears to be very happy and healthy. 

"In spite of losing his sense of smell and being virtually blind from cataracts, his appetite remains keen. Jonathan is in good health and all the indications at present make us hopeful that he will reach his third century—if indeed he hasn't done so already," Joe told the Guinness World Records.

Jonathan has two unique Guinness World Records to his name: one is for being the oldest land animal and the second is for being the oldest chelonian (which includes turtles, terrapins, tortoises). Jonathan the tortoise weighs roughly 182 kgs, and he is taken care of by veterinarian Joe Hollins. Talking to The Washington Post about Jonathan, Joe Hollins said, "It astounds me to think there is no living creature on the surface of this planet that was in existence before him."

In 2022, Jonathan's estimated age exceeded that of the tortoise that Guinness World Records had recognised as the oldest recorded ever, Tu'i Malila, who died in Tonga in 1966 at the age of 189, as per Wikipedia.

Meanwhile, Adwaita, an Aldabra giant tortoise that died in 2006 in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India, is believed to have lived to the age of 255 years, but this has not been confirmed.

He was brought to Saint Helena from the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean in 1882, along with three other tortoises at about 50 years of age. He was named in the 1930s by Governor of Saint Helena Sir Spencer Davis and has lived through 31 governors' terms.