Still sprightly at 183, the oldest creature on Earth
IF you’re wondering whether to start a new year diet, then follow the lead of Jonathan the 183-year-old tortoise.
He was beginning to slow down – even more than usual – in his advancing years, almost completely blind and with a declining sense of smell.
But now, thanks to a new menu packed with nutrition, the giant tortoise is enjoying a remarkable turnaround.
Believed to be the world’s oldest living land animal, Jonathan lives on the British outpost of St Helena, the South Atlantic island where Napoleon died in exile in 1821 – only 12 years before Jonathan was born.
His poor eyesight and sense of smell meant he was struggling to eat, and was seen grabbing at insubstantial twigs, leaves and dirt for food.
His plight was spotted by the island’s vet, Dr Joe Hollins, who put the tortoise on a high-calorie and nutritious diet of a bowl of apples, carrots, cucumber, bananas and guava.
Since the change, Jonathan has started coming back out of his shell again. He has gained weight, redeveloped his sharpedged beak to help him eat grass and become more active.
The famous reptile can be seen happily plodding the grounds of Plantation House, the home of the governor of St Helena, where he has lived since being taken to the island from the Seychelles in 1882 aged about 50.
Following the death of Harriet, a 175-yearold giant Galapagos land tortoise, in 2005 in Australia, Jonathan has taken the mantle as the world’s oldest known living land animal. And with his new diet experts say there is no reason why he cannot go on to reach his double-century and more.
Dr Hollins said: ‘ His life has been transformed. The life expectancy of a giant tortoise is 150 but there is no reason why Jonathan won’t still be here after we have all gone.’
Despite his improvement in health, Jonathan is too old to be used for a breeding programme to help boost the numbers of the vulnerable Seychelles giant tortoise.
It is thought the stress of transporting him to the archipelago in the Indian Ocean would be too much for him, let alone the rise in blood pressure from any physical liaison with a female.