Nature
PUBLISHED
Jonathan the tortoise, the world’s oldest living land animal, has officially become a Guinness World Records Icon. It might have taken 194 years, but the tortoise always gets there in the end.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.“Jonathan’s recognition as a Guinness World Records ICON is warmly welcomed by the people of St Helena,” Nigel Phillips CBE, the Governor of St Helena, where Jonathan currently resides, said in a statement.
“For generations, he has been regarded as a local icon, deeply embedded in the island’s identity and collective memory. This global acknowledgement reflects what the community has long known, that Jonathan is not only remarkable in age, but truly special to St Helena and its people,“ he added.
A new ICON
Guinness World Records Icon is an honorary title awarded by the organisation to record-holders whose achievements have made a global impact.
Now with this title under his belt, Jonathan will be placed alongside a ragtag crew of other remarkable record-holders, both living and otherwise:
- Zeus the Great Dane: The world's tallest dog, standing 1.118 meters (44 inches) tall at the shoulder.
- MrBeast: The most followed person on YouTube and maker of the largest veggie burger ever.
- Aevin Dugas: The woman with the largest afro
- John Cena: Most WWE championship titles
- Jeanne Calment: The oldest person ever recorded
- Hari Budha Magar: The first double amputee to climb the Seven Summits
- Burj Khalifa: The tallest building in the world
- Afshin Ghaderzadeh: Shortest man living
- Lucky Diamond Rich: The most tattooed man on Earth
- Wally Funk: The oldest woman in space
- Super Mario: Best-selling video game character
Jonathan is a Seychelles giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa), a subspecies of giant tortoise known for its extremely long neck and even longer lifespan.
Born around 1832 in his native homeland of Seychelles, he is estimated to be 194 years old. However, his exact age is unknown because of his murky backstory (tortoise egg record-keeping wasn't much of a priority in the 19th-century Indian Ocean).
He arrived as a fully grown adult on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena in 1882, serving as a gift to the British overseas territory’s future governor, William Grey-Wilson. Based on Jonathan’s maturity at that time, it’s estimated he was at least 50 years old. When he was finally given an official birthday in 2022, it was assigned to be December 4, 1832.
An LGBTortoise icon
Despite his advanced age and blindness, Jonathan still boasts a rambunctious libido and maintains a rotating cast of sexual partners.
One of his closest companions is a tortoise gifted to the governor of the British Overseas Territory in 1991 by the French consul. Originally named Frederica, the new arrival quickly caught Jonathan's attention, and the pair were regularly seen humping, as horny tortoises tend to do.
It wasn't until 2017 that veterinarians discovered Frederica was actually male, and the tortoise was swiftly renamed Frederick.
"In spite of his age, Jonathan still has good libido and is seen frequently to mate with Emma and sometimes Fred – animals are often not particularly gender-sensitive," Joe Hollins, his personal vet on the island, told Guinness World Records in 2022.
Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated
On April 1, 2026, a rumor circulated online that Jonathon had passed away. Seemingly unaware it was April Fool’s Day, a bunch of mainstream media outlets — including the BBC, the Mail Online, and USA Today — were fooled into publishing obituaries, mourning the loss of the world's oldest living land animal.
Fortunately, it turned out to be a hoax. The following morning, the St Helena Government confirmed that the record-breaking tortoise was "very much alive and well.”
And long may his longevity continue!
