This is Jonathan, 184 years old (photo: earthphotos.com)
Meet this one called Jonathan (Jonathan). She recently turned 184 years old, so she is considered the oldest land animal known around the world. Jonathan lives on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. He is extremely famous in his homeland and, one might say, is an integral part of the local community. So home to the oldest turtle in the world serves as Plantation House, the official residence of the governor.
The age of this giant turtle is documented, and there are even photographs of it a century ago! For example, here is a photo of Jonathan taken on St. Helena back in 1902. Nearby, for comparison, is his 2015 photo:
(photo: imgur) Jonathan has lost his eyesight due to cataracts and can no longer smell, but otherwise feels quite normal. His health is monitored by his local veterinarian, Dr. Joe Hollins. Interesting fact: the oldest turtle never washed, so it can also be considered the dirtiest animal in the world. Therefore, Dr. Hollins organized the first bathroom in his life for Jonathan, washing away all the dirt that had accumulated on it for almost 200 years from the turtle.
How she was bathed:
A few photographs of almost two hundred years old Jonathan:
(photo: British Veterinary Association) 
(photo: JOEHOLLINS / BNPS) 
(photo: JOEHOLLINS / BNPS) 
(photo: Guy Gatien)
The world's oldest turtle lived in Australia. Why did you live? She passed away not so long ago. Everything comes to an end sometime. In this article, we will tell you about the life of this famous turtle, as well as its possible "successor". The world should know its heroes, as they say, in person!
Contemporary of Charles Darwin
Once in the Australian Zoo lived a real contemporary of the famous naturalist named Charles Darwin, who is famous for the discovery of the theory of human evolution. The oldest tortoise in the world, nicknamed Harriet, was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as a creature that has lived in captivity for 175 years! Just think: in captivity! It is hard to imagine how many owners have changed, the very first of which was none other than the founder of the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin!
Life story...
Birthday
On October 11, 2005, this giant elephant and also the world's oldest turtle celebrated its 175th birthday. Harriet was born during the time of Queen Victoria, when she was still a child, namely in 1830. Surprisingly, for the first 124 years of life, this turtle was mistaken for a male.
Who is the owner?
Interestingly, British paleontologists, who carried out a very thorough reconstruction of the turtle's past, believe that it was not Darwin who caught it, but ordinary whalers as a source of food. In addition, the hypothesis that the oldest tortoise in the world belonged to Darwin is based only on the fact that the scientist caught four giant individuals during his trip to the Galapagos Islands (1835). Allegedly, Harriet was among them. 
Soon two of the four turtles died, the other two were transported by ship to Australia by one of Charles Darwin's friends. Further DNA analysis showed that Harriet most likely hails from an island called Santa Cruz in the Galapagos Islands.
Guilty without guilt
The oldest turtle has been a major attraction at Queensland Zoo for the past 30 years! Research into her DNA suggests that she is at least 170 years old anyway. Today, scientists believe that about 12 of its congeners, the giant elephant turtles, remain on our planet. Moreover, zoologists blame the small population on Harriet! They argue that until the end of its life, the world's oldest tortoise retained the ability to reproduce: she was still ovulating, but there was no "groom" ...
Quiet and modest
According to the stories of the keepers of the zoo where this turtle lived, hibiscus flowers were her favorite food. In addition, she ate eggplant, squash, parsley and beans, and lived a very modest lifestyle.
Harriet died in 2005 in the Galapagos Islands. She was 175 years old.
Continuation of the dynasty
According to unofficial data, valid as of October 2011, the world's oldest tortoise is considered to be a certain male Jonathan, who lives on St. Helena. Today he is allegedly 180 years old. However, this is not accurate information, because the analysis of Jonathan's DNA, carried out by world scientists, cannot give us exact numbers. 
They say that Jonathan still finds the strength to mate with three females. Interestingly, this turtle is a contemporary of Britain's 8 monarchs and its 50 prime ministers!
There is an opinion that every living creature on Earth has a much longer life cycle, however, due to certain circumstances and various unfavorable factors, be it bad ecology, unhealthy diet, illness, accidents, etc., you have to leave early, although there are also happy exceptions.
One of these exceptions is the oldest turtle in the world, which lives in the waters of the South China Sea, washing Vietnamese Hanoi. Answering the question of how old the oldest turtle in the world is, local residents cite figures from 529 to 1000 years, however, this fact has not been scientifically confirmed. It is noteworthy that we are talking about a long-lived leatherback turtle, which was found not in the sea area, but in one of the lakes of Hanoi called Hoan Kiem. At the same time, the turtles of this breed are not only the oldest, but also the largest on our planet, because the average weight of this animal ranges from 300 to 500 kilograms with an increase of 1 meter 35 centimeters to 2 meters 10 centimeters. But the largest specimen to date has become a leatherback turtle, the weight of which just barely reached one ton, amounting to 916 kilograms. And it remains only to guess how many years this sea monster has lived in the world, listed both in the Red Book as an endangered subspecies, and in the Guinness Book of Records for several parameters at once (weight, length, age, etc.). Another interesting fact was the fact that the shell of these centenarians is covered with skin, not bone tissue (hence the name). In addition, these animals are deep-sea, this feature was fully exploited by the researchers, who attached special fixing devices to their shells, which made it possible to measure the depth of water bodies.
Another contender for the title of the longest-living turtle in the world named Jonathan lives on the famous island of Saint Helena and this year he celebrated his 185th birthday. For the first time this old man was noticed by a photographer who came to capture the island with his camera and this significant event took place in 1902. A little later, this picture was put up for auction, after which they became seriously interested in the life of the turtle and decided to find out interesting facts from her biography. As a result, it was established that Jonathan came to St. Helena together with his owners at the end of the nineteenth century, and since then he has changed more than one family. In addition, scientists noted the amazing love of this old-time male, because even today, despite his advanced age, he has three young lovers at once and feels great in their company. Today Jonathan has become one of the attractions of the famous island, happily posing for visiting tourists.
Another interesting fact about the biography of the oldest turtle in the world was his first bathing, which took place last year under the supervision of a local veterinarian. The same doctor completely revised Jonat's diet, making it more varied and high in calories, as a result of which the animal gained weight and became even more cheerful and active. So, the main menu of the island old-timer, who survived in his lifetime 8 rulers and 28 governors, mainly consists of fresh vegetables and fruits, he gives the greatest preference to guava, bananas and apples.
It is known that the huge Seychelles turtles, which often live up to 150 years of age, also have a special longevity. India can also boast of such rare animals, however, this year a real tragedy occurred in one of the cities of this wonderful country - at the age of 256, the local turtle Advitta, which for a long time was considered the oldest animal on the planet, died. It is noteworthy that this animal also came to Calcutta from the Seychelles and was brought by Indian sailors, amazed at its size.
This turtle, like its brother Jonathan, has survived more than one government, eventually ending up at the local zoo from private hands, automatically becoming its main attraction. After the death of Advitta, the authorities decided to leave her shell as a souvenir, which today can be seen in one of the museums in Calcutta.
The turtle Advaita ("unique" in Sanskrit) is an animal recognized as one of the oldest in the world.
Advaita died on the night of March 22-23, 2006. It is recognized as one of the oldest animals in the world. Estimated date of birth 1750.
According to the Minister of Agriculture of the Indian state of West Bengal Jogesh Barman, Advaita was the favorite of British General Robert Clive of the East India Trading Company and spent several years on his estate, and then, 130 years ago, he was bought by the zoo.
Advaita belonged to the giant tortoises, which are called "Aldabra" - after the Aldabra Atoll, one of the many land areas scattered in the Indian Ocean of the Seychelles archipelago. This place, where about 152 thousand relatives of Advaita live, has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UN. The average weight of such a turtle is about 120 kilograms. Advaita was very popular with tourists and attracted crowds of visitors to the city zoo of Kolkata.
Turtle Garietta is an animal recognized as one of the oldest in the world.
The elephant turtle named Garietta was born around 1830 on an island in the Galapagos archipelago and died on June 23, 2006 at the Australian Zoo.
It is believed that in 1835 she and two other individuals of this species were taken to Great Britain by the famous naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Since at that moment the animal was no more than a plate in size, its age was estimated at five to six years. The sex of the animal was determined to be male and it received the nickname Harry.
In 1841, all three animals were transported to the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens in Australia.
In 1952, the Brisbane Botanic Gardens were closed and the turtle was released into the Australian Coast Conservation Area. Here she was discovered in 1960 by the director of the zoo from Hawaii and found that the sex of the animal is female. After a while, the turtle was moved to the Australian Zoo.
Since the documents of the animal were lost back in the 1920s, it is not possible to document the age of the turtle. However, in 1992, a genetic analysis was carried out, which confirmed that Garietta was originally from the Galapagos Islands and was at least 162 years old.
In 2004, her 175th birthday was solemnly celebrated. Her weight at that time was 150 kg, and the size of a small dining table.
Turtle Tui Malila - Madagascar radiant turtle (Astrochelys radiata), according to the Guinness Book of Records - one of the oldest animals in the world.
In 1773, it was presented to the representatives of the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Tonga by the famous navigator Captain Cook. As of 1965, she was 188 years old.
Kiki? (fr. Kiki) - a male giant tortoise, one of the oldest animals on the planet, who died at the zoo of the Paris Garden of Plants (M? nagerie du Jardin des plantes) on November 30, 2009 at the age of 146 years.
Kiki was brought in 1923 by a Mauritian naturalist as a gift to France when he was already an adult.
At the time of his death, Kiki weighed 250 kg and until his death showed great zeal in courting females, which earned the love and respect of the French. An intestinal infection became the cause of death of the animal.
Mother Nature amazes us all the time. Most surprising of all is the facts of the longevity of creatures. Turtles are among the ten most ancient creatures living on land. They have inhabited the planet for 220 million years. Among them there are also long-lived turtles, whose age has passed well over a hundred years.
There are amazing animals on Earth, whose age is simply amazing. But not all records of centenarians have been documented.
There is information that sheds light on how old the oldest turtle is: this is Samira, who lived a little more than three centuries. Although such a claim is controversial, since it has not been documented.
Here is a list of the longest living turtles in the world:
| Name | View | Age (in years) |
| Samira | galapagos | 270-315 |
| Advaita | seychelles | 150-255 |
| Tui Malila | madagascar radiant | 189-192 |
| Jonathan | seychelles | 183 |
| Garietta | elephant | 175 |
| Timothy | mediterranean | 160 |
| Kiki | gigantic | 146 |
Of all the listed ones, only Jonathan is alive today - the giant Seychelles turtle.
Samira
This oldest turtle in the world ended its life in Egypt (Cairo) at a very venerable age. According to some sources, she was 270 years old at that moment, according to others - all 315 years old. In recent years, this old animal has already ceased to move independently.
In 1891, the reptile was donated to the zoo by King Farouk, the last monarch of Egypt.
Advaita
Before his departure for India, British soldiers returning from the Seychelles presented Lord Robert Clive with this exotic animal in 1767.
The reptile first lived in the garden of the lord's house. Then, after his death in 1875, she was taken to the Alipore Zoological Garden in the city of Calcutta. But there was no evidence that it was exactly Advaita, which the soldiers had presented to the lord.
The animal died in 2006. It is assumed that she lived a little more than a quarter of a millennium - 255 years. To prove this fact, it was decided to keep her shell. Zoo workers are planning to establish the exact age of the reptile with the help of an examination.
Tui Malila
The age that this long-lived turtle has reached is a Guinness record. Although in this case, the exact age of the reptile could not be established.
According to unconfirmed documentary information, in 1773 it was presented as a gift to the native leader by Captain Cook himself. Tui Malila ended up on the island of Tonga.
The surviving body of Tui Malila is currently on display at the Tongan National Center on Tongatapu. If we assume that it was a one-year-old turtle, it would have been 192 years old at the time of its death in 1966. But there is information that the animal leader received a little later. Then the record holder lived to be 189 years old.
Recently, Malila has completely stopped moving and has not seen anything. She only ate what was put right to her mouth. The patterns on the carapace darkened, it became almost monochromatic - almost black.
Jonathan
From the Seychelles, this giant turtle was transported with three others in 1882 and presented to the Governor of Saint Helena. The animal was at this time for about half a century.
This conclusion was reached due to the rather large size of their shells. The proof is a photo taken around 1886-1900, in which Jonathan was filmed with two men. The picture clearly shows that the reptile is quite large, its shell resembles a small table in size. Because of this, it was decided that the turtle was half a century old at the time of the move.
Jonathan - Seychelles Giant Turtle In 1930, the then current governor of the island, Spencer Davis, decided to name the almost 100-year-old male. So the oldest of all creatures living on the planet and still lives in the official residence of the governor of the island.
In 2019, Jonathan will celebrate his 183rd birthday. He is still quite cheerful and active, although sometimes he shows senile intolerance. It happens that a long-liver, who considers himself the rightful owner of the territory of the Plantation House, turns over all the benches in the yard, snorts at the people who are working on the site and caring for the old-timer.
Jonathan's image is featured on Saint Helena's fivepenny coins. He is a frequent hero of TV shows and magazine articles.
Harriet (Garietta)
Thirteen years ago (in 2006) at the age of 176 at the Australian Zoo this long-liver died of a heart attack. She was born presumably in 1830 on one of the islands of the Galapagos archipelago.
In the company of two more individuals of the same species. The turtles were about five years old. This was determined by the size of their shells - they were no more than a plate. The future long-liver was mistaken for a male and named Harry.
Turtle Charles Darwin - Garietta In the years 1841-1952. reptiles lived in Australia in the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens. Then the then still Harry was transported to a conservation area on the coast of the country. Where the other two turtles went is unknown.
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