His life spanned eight monarchs, two world wars and the invention of the lightbulb, train and telephone.
That is the beginning of an obituary we were about to jot down for the world’s oldest tortoise – until it turned out he hadn’t died.
At 193 years old, Jonathan was the victim of an April Idiot’s crypto scam which tricked all the world into believing he had passed away.
The BBC, Day by day Mail and USA Today all fell for a fake X account posing because the tortoise’s vet.
The post, attributed to ‘Joe Hollins’, claimed: ‘Heartbroken to share that our beloved Jonathan, the world’s oldest living land animal, has passed away today peacefully on Saint Helena.
‘As his vet for a few years, it was an honour to take care of him – hand-feeding bananas, watching him bask within the sun and marvelling at his quiet wisdom. He leaves behind a legacy of resilience and longevity that inspired thousands and thousands. Rest easy, old friend. You’ll be missed greater than words can say.’
The X post racked up 2million views and spawned news reports across the globe, until an in depth look revealed the account behind it was based in Brazil, in line with the Guardian.
The true Joe Hollins, who doesn’t use X, then said: ‘Jonathan the tortoise could be very much alive.
‘I consider on X the person purporting to be me is asking for crypto donations, so it’s not even an April idiot joke. It’s a con.’
Indeed the imposter vet was asking for cryptocurrency donations
A spokesperson for the Friends of the British Overseas Territories also said that they had been told that Jonathan was ‘alive and well’.
The historic tortoise’s exact age is definitely just an estimate.
Nobody knows exactly when he was born, but a photograph taken in 1882 shows that he was fully grown when he was first delivered to the island of StHelena, a distant outpost within the South Atlantic.
Experts say this implies he was about 50 years old on the time.
What world events has Jonathan lived through
When Jonathan was born an estimated 193 years ago, Queen Victoria had not yet ascended to the throne and scientists had no idea evolution even existed.
If he was born in 1833, which means he entered the world on the identical 12 months the British Empire abolished slavery.
Queen Victoria’s reign began 4 years later in 1837.
Jonathan survived an enormous variety of world conflicts, from the Crimean and American Civil wars within the 1800s, to the 2 World Wars within the twentieth century.
The tortoise was well over a 100 years old when the United Nations was founded in 1945 and the primary men landed on the moon in 1969.
Jonathan also lived through the invention of the fashionable world.
The sunshine bulb and the phone first popped up almost 50 years after he was born.
The concept of the fashionable computer was proposed by Alan Turing after Jonathan had celebrated his one centesimal birthday.
The tortoise has met an limitless list of famous faces.
He welcome the longer term Queen Elizabeth II, in addition to King George VI and the Queen Mother, to St Helena in 1947.
Jonathan was fed by Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, when he was already 125.
House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle presented him with a Guinness World Record certificate recognising him because the oldest known land animal on this planet.
Jonathan has remained on the British Overseas Territory ever since, where he lives on the grounds of Plantation House, the official residence of the St Helena’s Governor.
This isn’t to say that 193 years doesn’t take its toll on a tortoise.
The animal is blind from cataracts and has lost his sense of smell.
But he continues to have a powerful appetite for bananas and a healthy libido – which he tries on with two younger tortoises on the island.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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