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Meet the World’s Oldest Living Creature – Jonathan!

By: Majdy send a private message
Jamestown : Saint Helena | about 1 year ago
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Views: 23,973
  • Jonathan, the oldest living creature
    Jonathan, the oldest living creature
    Posted by: Majdy
    <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face \ {font-family:"Cambria Math"; ...
  • Meet Jonathan!
    Meet Jonathan!
    Posted by: Majdy
    This 175-plus giant tortoise is considered to be world's oldest living ...
Jonathan, the oldest living creature

This is one very interesting story of a giant tortoise, Jonathan who is now over 175 years of age, still healthy, active and thinks of himself more prestiged than a celebrity. Well, in one way his feelings of a cool celebrity are quite justifiable. After all, Mr. Jonathan Tortoise has witnessed the coronation of eight British monarchs, from George IV to Elizabeth II, and a staggering 50 prime ministers in his exceptional life span.

The previous oldest known tortoise was thought to be Harriet, a giant Galapagos land tortoise that died aged 175 in 2005, in Australia. Jonathan is however, considered to be more than 175 years old and more importantly, he is no ordinary tortoise. He saw British history transition and is officially the only living creature that lived through so many phases of history.

It is believed that this giant tortoise was first brought with two other giant tortoises in the plantation House of the St. Helena governor’s residence in the island capital of Jamestown, as ornamental pets from Seychelles in the Indian Ocean in 1882. These giant tortoises may have been over 50 years old then, out of which only Jonathan is still alive. At a possible age of 175-plus he would be the world’s oldest living creature and not just the oldest tortoise only.

These days Jonathan hangs out with his much younger fellow tortoises David, Speedy, Fredicka, and Myrtle. According to locals, he still has the energy to mate regularly with the three females. A spokesman for the island’s tourist board said, “Jonathan feeds on the grass of the main paddock and is still very active and despite his age, and adores attention.” He added admiringly, “He is a real poser. He seems to be sightless in one eye, but does not let that slow him down.”

This oldest living creature no doubt deserves good care and recognition for his exceptional life-span. If only we could appoint some birth date to this tortoise, we could all give him a birthday bash while celebrating the oldest creature’s birthday in the world. How about that?

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Posted By xznofile xznofile | about 1 year ago
Turritopsis nutricula is a jellyfish with a life cycle which reverts to the polyp stage after becoming sexually mature. Theoretically, this cycle can repeat indefinitely, rendering it effectively immortal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsis_nutricula
Reply By Majdy Majdy | about 1 year ago
Thank you xznofile! That was an interesting piece of information. But biologically speaking, the multi-cellular jellyfish actually keeps living on new cells, meaning new life every time. Every cycle of its life is based on mitosis and meiosis of cells – old cells die and new cells are constantly formed. It is amazing how life works... :-)
Posted By chump chump | about 1 year ago
I am sure there are lots of trees older than 175 years old --- this is definitely not the oldest living creature.
Reply By lspiderl lspiderl | about 1 year ago
A tree is a living thing of course however a tree is not a CREATURE
therefore the statement is stil correct
Reply By Majdy Majdy | about 1 year ago
Hey lspiderl, Thank you so much for coming up with a valid point. I agree with you, a tree is definitely not a creature. Thanks again buddy! :-)
Reply By lspiderl lspiderl | about 1 year ago
happy to help :)
News Stories
 
Blogs
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  • Blog Source: absolutelyeverythingelse.blogspot.com
    The previous oldest tortoise was widely thought to be Harriet, a giant Galapagos Land tortoise, who died in 2005 aged 175 in Australia. Despite his old age, locals say he still has the energy to regularly mate with the three younger ...
  • Blog Source: chateaumoulinsart.blogspot.com
    The previous oldest-known creature was thought to be Harriet, a giant Galapagos land tortoise who died, aged 175, in 2005 in Australia. Tina is treated as a celebrity, and for good reason: during her remarkable lifespan she has seen the ...
  • Blog Source: carolinanaturally.blogspot.com
    "Therefore his minimum age is 176-years-old. He is the oldest inhabitant on St Helena and is claimed to be the oldest living tortoise in the world. "World's oldest living animal discovered after he is pictured in 1900 photograph" ...
  • Blog Source: naturalplane.blogspot.com
    At a possible age of 175-plus he would be the world's oldest living animal. The previous oldest-known tortoise was thought to be Harriet, a giant Galapagos land tortoise who died, aged 175, in 2005 in Australia. ...
  • Blog Source: www.harley-davidson-hangout.com
    Therefore, his minimum age is 176, making him the world’s oldest living animal. Until the discovery of Jonathan, the world’s most famous giant tortoise was a Galapagos tortoise named Harriet, who was taken from her native habitat to ...
  • Blog Source: communicatescience.com
    The last excitement we had in the same vein was the death of the Galapagos tortoise ‘Harriet’, who reached 175 years spot-on, amid the accolade she may have owned the oldest eyeballs to have formed an image of the living Charles Darwin. ...
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