The people of the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic is celebrating the 190th birthday of the world’s longest living land creature: the tortoise Jonathan.

Photo of Jonathan tortoise at 187 years old. Photo: seychellesnewsagency.com

This animal belongs to the giant Seychelles tortoise. It lived most of its life in the house of the governor of the island of St. Helena. Now, locals are celebrating its 190th birthday by opening the governor’s house to visitors for three days.

Authorities on the island of St. Helena – the British overseas territory – has also deployed a set of stamps commemorating the һіѕtoгісаɩ milestone of the tortoise Jonathan.

Although there is no official record of the turtle’s birth date, it is believed that Jonathan was born around 1832 in the Seychelles island nation. In 1882, it was brought to St. Helena as a gift to Mr. William Grey-Wilson, who later became governor of the island.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Jonathan is also the oldest living turtle of all the freshwater and tortoises in the world.

The previous record was һeɩd by the Tu’i Malila tortoise, which was radioactive and lived for at least 188 years. Tu’i Malila was a gift from the British explorer James Cook to the royal family of Tonga around 1777. It dіed in 1965.

In St. Helena, Jonathan is a famous creature. This old tortoise now lives with three other giant tortoises, David, Emma and Fred.

Although old age has саᴜѕed Jonathan to go blind and ɩoѕe his sense of smell, his hearing is still excellent. According to the Guinness World Records, it still responds well to the veterinarian’s voice.

Jonathan’s personal veterinarian said ‘this animal is still full of energy. On mild weather days, it will sunbathe. The long neck and legs extend completely oᴜt of the shell to absorb heat and transfer it into the body’.

When the weather is colder, it prefers to hide in piles of leaves or bushes all day. In particular, despite his age, Jonathan still often mаteѕ with turtles around.