In terrestrial animals, turtles are renowned for their longevity. The oldest extant turtle on land currently is the Seychelles giant tortoise, living on the volcanic island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, named 'Jonathan'. It is 188 years old this year.

The island of St. Helena is, compared to what you might have heard, particularly familiar. It belongs to the United Kingdom, and the island is well-known for the reason that Napoleon Bonaparte, after suffering a crushing defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and losing power, was exiled to this remote island and died in 1821.

The Seychelles giant tortoise belongs to a subspecies of Aldabra giant tortoise, originally living in the islands of the West Indies-Aldabra group, where there are approximately 100,000 Aldabra giant tortoises, but the breeding rate of the Seychelles giant tortoise is very small, and the number is not much. The Seychelles giant tortoise is large in size, with a long neck, and its shell can reach 1.8 meters or so, and its weight can reach 370 kilograms. The central part of the shell is raised high, and the edges are curled upwards. The four limbs are thick. The female tortoise can lay 9-25 eggs the size of tennis balls, and the incubation period is about 100-200 days. It is docile in nature and mainly feeds on plants, and occasionally eats meat.

How did 'Jonathan' come to the famous St. Helena?

The island of St. Helena is a volcanic island with violent storms, and is similar to Tristan da Cunha and the South Atlantic's other isolated islands because of its remoteness. The island became a commercial center for the East India Company in the 17th century, and many victims of the slave trade, patients, and the dying, criminals all spent their last few hours on the coast of St. Helena. The residents of the island are called 'Saint', and they have a complex past, with Africans, Americans, Europeans, and Asians.

In the 17th century, ships could accommodate hundreds of easily stacked turtles, which were delivered to all over the world as food for people just like fast food delivery. Only about 200,000 turtles were caught and eaten on the Galapagos Islands. And 'Jonathan' was brought to St. Helena in this way.

However, 'Jonathan' had a different fate compared to other turtles. In the 1980s, it became a pet for the then Hudson Janse-Guyer of St. Helena. After that, there have been 33 governors, and 'Jonathan' has become a mascot of the island, respected and treated like royalty, and 'Jonathan' has also been printed on the small island's five pence coins. So no governor wanted 'Jonathan' to die under their eyes.

In fact, the accurate age of 'Jonathan' is not very clear. When it was brought to St. Helena in 1882, it was already an adult turtle, and researchers estimate that its body may take 50 years to grow to that size based on a photo showing the entire body of Jonathan taken at that time. So people think that 'Jonathan' was born in 1832, which belongs to the reign of Emperor Daoguang in China. Specifically, the date of birth is unknown, so every year, people celebrate this turtle's birthday.

From a broader perspective, how long has Jonathan lived: before Victoria was crowned Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (she was only 19 years old), it had already been incubating for six years

He lived longer than her and the next four monarchs (Edward VII, George V, Edward VII, and George VI). He may even be older than the current Queen Elizabeth II and other Commonwealth Queens.

Jonathan's life was lucky, lived a comfortable life, eating and sleeping and basking in the sun, occasionally being ridden by people. But compared to this privileged life, being ridden down is not a big deal.

Moreover, Jonathan has watched one after another of the riders enter the tomb. In addition to the privileged living conditions, people also arranged for Jonathan to make its needs, although Jonathan is very old, but his desires never diminished, old and strong. People arranged for it to continue to have two partners, a 49-year-old tortoise Emma, and a 1991 August born tortoise 'Frederickka' which was brought to the estate.

For 26 years, 'Jonathan' has been in love with 'Frederickka'. However, in 26 years, 'Frederickka' has not been pregnant, which made the island residents very strange, because turtle fertility is not so bad, and 'Jonathan' has been trying for 26 years, how could it not have any results?

However, after inspection by the estate veterinarian, the gender of 'Frederickka' became a question. This is because their sex is not obvious, the reproductive system is all inside, it is difficult to judge by appearance, but male giant tortoises have an 'egg plate' concave in their shells, so they can ride on female tortoises, place and move when they slide down. 'Frederickka's' shell is slightly deformed, so it is difficult to determine whether it is female. In addition, 'Frederickka' has not been pregnant for 26 years, and 'Jonathan' has been trying for 26 years, so the veterinarian judged that 'Frederickka' is more likely to be male.

So 'Jonathan''s 26-year pursuit object was a male. It's no wonder it has no offspring despite its hard work. However, 'Jonathan''s body condition is still good, it continues to participate in mating activities. This made the island residents very embarrassed.

But as it gets older, 'Jonathan''s vision and sense of smell decline, given the declining physical function of the elderly, it is no longer enough to just eat a few leaves and grass, so it is currently taken care of by a person who regularly cleans its hygiene and feeds it, including apples, cucumbers and carrots. It is estimated that this turtle can still live for several more governors.

Once it dies, the St. Helena government will greatly respect Jonathan's life. In the same way as any famous and important person, a statement reflecting its life will be distributed to news agencies.

There are rumors that its shell will be preserved, and a tall bronze statue will be built for it. The same is true for the fate of the tortoise 'Jonathan' – it is truly worthy of a lifetime.