Nearing his 200th birthday, Jonathan the giant turtle continues to keep Wikipedia editors busy for all the right reasons. After all, who else can say they survived 40 US presidents, two world wars and the era of cryptocurrency scammers?
According to , on April Fools’ Day (April 1st) an account on X that pretended to be his personal veterinarian, Joe Hollinspublished that Jonathan had passed away.
The post, which racked up millions of views within hours, read: “It is with a broken heart that we share that our beloved Jonathan, the world’s oldest living land animal, passed away peacefully today in St Helena.”
Several mainstream media outlets, including the BBC, Mail Online and USA Today, were prompted to publish obituaries mourning the loss of the world’s oldest living land animal.
However, something didn’t add up. After reporters from The Guardian and other outlets realized the post came from an account based in Brazil, a considerable distance from Jonathan’s home in St. Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic, some contacted Hollins for comment.
The vet confirmed that he did not have an X account and that Jonathan was actually not dead.
“The Saint Helena Government (SHG) would like to reassure the community that Jonathan, the Saint Helena’s beloved giant tortoise and the oldest land animal in the world, is very much alive and in good health“, stated the SHG in a .
“These allegations are completely false and appear to be part of a prank online. Jonathan was seen this morning at his home on the grounds of Plantation House, where he continues to enjoy your routine, under the care and attention of the staff of Plantation House and the Veterinary Service of Saint Helena», they added.
So yes, the news about Jonathan’s death is greatly exaggerated. After all, it was April Fools’ Day, but the true Hollins suspects something more sinister was happening.
“I believe that in X, the person pretending to be me is asking cryptocurrency donationsso it’s not even an April Fools joke. It’s a fraud“, Hollins told USA Today.
Jonathan is a giant tortoise from Seychelles (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa) which holds the world record for oldest known land animal.
Born around 1832began his life in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, before being taken to Saint Helena in 1882, along with dozens of others.
His companions were lost over the decades, but Jonathan resisted and can still be seen wandering peacefully through the gardens of the governor’s mansion on the remote island.
To the 193 yearsJonathan’s extraordinary longevity is finally starting to catch up with him. This practically blind and without smellso it has to be hand-fed, and its favorite food is lettuce. However, the old turtle has not completely lost its luster.
“Despite his age, Jonathan still has a good sexual appetite and it is often seen mating with Emma and sometimes with the Fred“, Hollins told in 2022.
Teresa Oliveira Campos, ZAP //
