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Tortoise Turns Roughly 191 Years Old

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TwilightPrincess
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11 Dec 2023, 1:16 am

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Even at his advanced age, the Seychelles giant tortoise shows “no sign of slowing down,” his vet tells Guinness World Records

From a year ago:



Quote:
With this new milestone, he also broke his own record as the oldest chelonian—a tortoise, turtle or terrapin—ever documented.

Though his exact age is unknown, Jonathan was fully grown when he was gifted to the island’s governor from Seychelles in 1882, which experts said meant he was at least 50 years old. Last year, the tortoise was granted an official birthday of December 4, 1832, by St. Helena Governor Nigel Phillips—but experts say he’s likely even older. Seychelles giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa) have an average life expectancy of 150 years.

Jonathan has achieved a level of local celebrity, and he even appears on some of the island’s five pence coins. He lives on the manicured lawns of a St. Helena mansion known as “Plantation House,” the official residence of the governor, with three other tortoise companions.

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Quote:
One of those tortoises, named Frederika, came to the island in 1991 as a gift from the French consul to the governor of St. Helena, reported Michael Binyon for the Times in 2017. Jonathan became quickly enamored of Frederika, and the two developed an intimate relationship. In 2017, Frederika was brought to the vet for a lesion on her shell. Upon closer inspection, the vet determined that Frederika was probably a male tortoise—which would explain the pair’s lack of offspring.

Jonathan now lives happily with tortoises Frederik (renamed after the vet’s discovery), David and Emma.

“In spite of his age, Jonathan still has a good libido and is seen frequently to mate with Emma and sometimes Fred,” Hollins tells GWR.


https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-ne ... 180983392/



autisticelders
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11 Dec 2023, 8:08 am

love this! turtles and tortoise are my favorite animal. It is remarkable how long some species can live and the length of their ability to procreate is amazing as well. Thanks for the post, it makes me happy! <3


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TwilightPrincess
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11 Dec 2023, 10:53 pm

I love turtles and tortoises too. I helped an eastern box turtle named Ignatius cross a busy road once. He looked like this:

Image
Image

So cool!



naturalplastic
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11 Dec 2023, 11:28 pm

Okay...so ... he woulda been born in 1832.
When Andrew Jackson won his second term as POTUS.

He lives on St. Helena Island. But he was born in the Seychelles, and was gifted to St. Helena in like 1882.

But if he had been born in St. Helena it wouldve been only twelve years after its most famous resident died. That being Napoleon, who was sent to live in exile in St. Helena in 1815, and died there 1820.

Belgium rebelled against the Netherlands in 1832. So the tortoise is as old as the nation of Belgium.



Last edited by naturalplastic on 11 Dec 2023, 11:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

TwilightPrincess
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11 Dec 2023, 11:30 pm

It’s hard to even wrap my brain around it.



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12 Dec 2023, 12:30 am

Love me a bisexual turtle who's seen some s**t


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13 Dec 2023, 12:32 am

Happy Birthday to Jonathan! :mrgreen:


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