THE SUN (London, UK) 04 December 08 Old-age mutant swinger tortoise (Jamie Pyatt)
Meet Jonathan the tortoise — hailed as the world’s oldest living animal and STILL with a keen eye for the ladies at the astonishing age of 176.
Sadly the other eye doesn’t wander any more, since keepers think advanced old age has robbed it of sight.
But Jonathan doesn’t let that cramp his style as he regularly mates with THREE sprightly young females in his compound.
His incredible long life was uncovered after experts spotted a wrinkled tortoise in a Boer War photo — and realised it was him.
Jonathan was snapped beside a war prisoner on the British colony of St Helena, where he still lives. The picture, taken around 1900, showed him munching grass while already over 70.
That means he has now lived through the coronations of EIGHT British monarchs and survived FIFTY Prime Ministers.
Jonathan, a Giant Land Tortoise, lives with pals David, Speedy, Emma, Fredricka and Myrtle in a special plantation on land owned by the governor of his South Atlantic island.
A spokesman for the St Helena tourist board said: “Jonathan is the sole survivor of three tortoises that arrived on St Helena Island in 1882.
“He was already mature and at least 50 when he got here. Therefore he’s at least 176.
“He lives in the grounds of Plantation House — the governor’s residence — with five much younger tortoises, including three females.
“He feeds on the grass of the main paddock and is still very active despite his age.”
Guinness World Records names the oldest known animal ever as a tortoise from Madagascar called Tui Malila, who died in 1966 aged 189.
British expert Dr Henry Nicholls said: “Giant Land Tortoises live a hell of a lot longer than humans and, due to this, you need to have several generations of people keeping reliable documents to provide 100 per cent proof of its age.
“About 200 is a really good age for a giant tortoise. They reach adulthood at 20.”
The previous oldest tortoise was widely thought to be Harriet, a giant Galapagos Land tortoise who died aged 175 in Australia three years ago.
It is thought Jonathan was brought to St Helena from the Seychelles.
His story came to light after his photograph was discovered among a collection of Boer War images taken by LA Innes who had a studio in the island’s capital Jamestown.
The pictures were recently sold for £4,000 at an auction near Winchester, Hants.
Further investigation by the auctioneers revealed the tortoise in the picture was Jonathan who was still alive.
St Helena has a population of more than 4,200. Its greatest claim to fame came when Napoleon was exiled there in 1815. He was held prisoner there until his death in 1821.
Old-age mutant swinger tortoise