This rare picture of a Boer war prisoner snapped on the remote island of St Helena, has shed light on one of the planets oldest living inhabitants Photo: BNPS.CO.UK
Jonathan, the tortoise, still alive today Photo: BNPS.CO.UK
Posted on 12/03/2008 12:36:07 PM PST by Daffynition
But the pictures helps to mark the reptile as the oldest animal on the planet.
Jonathan, the tortoise, is believed to be 176-years-old and was about 70 at the time the black and white picture was taken.
He was photographed during the Boer War around 1900, and his life has spanned eight British monarchs from George IV to Elizabeth II, and 50 prime ministers.
It was taken on the South Atlantic island of St Helena, where Jonathan still lives today, along with five other tortoises David, Speedy, Emma, Fredricka and Myrtle, in a plantation.
The previous oldest tortoise was widely thought to be Harriet, a giant Galapagos Land tortoise, who died in 2005 aged 175 in Australia.
Despite his old age, locals say he still has the energy to regularly mate with the three younger females.
A spokesman for the island's tourist board said Jonathan is owned by the St Helena government and lives in the specially built plantation on the governor's land.
He said: "Jonathan is the sole survivor of three tortoises that arrived on St Helena Island in 1882.
"He was already mature when he arrived and was at least 50-years-old.
"Therefore his minimum age is 176-years-old. He is the oldest inhabitant on St Helena and is claimed to be the oldest living tortoise in the world.
"He lives in the grounds of Plantation House which is the governor's residence with five other tortoises who are much younger than him.
"Apparently he remained nameless for the most part of his residence in St Helena until he was named by Governor Sir Spencer Davis in the 1930s.
"He feeds on the grass of the main paddock.
"Jonathan is still very active despite his age and adores attention, he is a real poser.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Jonathan, the tortoise, still alive today Photo: BNPS.CO.UK
Hmmm...expected to see Helen Thomas riding him in the earlier photo.
Haha. What a lovely, old chap!
He only mates with females younger than himself.
‘energy to regularly mate with the three younger females.’
Sounds like a plan.
“At my age, they’re all younger” -George Burns
at 176 yrs. old, have scientists come up with a tortoise viagra pill? :^)
"I demand a recount"
‘Another tortoise, Timothy, who was a ship’s mascot in the Crimean War, died at his home at Powderham Castle, near Exeter, Devon, in 2004, aged 160. The castle’s Rose Garden had been his home since 1935.’
Man talk about history. If that tortoise could talk. lol.
Be careful of what you wish for.
It'd say "I'm dead!"
Hugh Hefner may be off demanding to see the tortoise’s birth certificate.
I feel cheated.
I scrolled down quickly to find if there is a picture of the tortoise in question.
And I see Helen Thomas’ pic.
Man, you disrespected the tortoise.
Don’t be too envious. Reptiles do not have penises or vaginas. They have sex through their cloacal openings — a sort of all-purpose rectum through which the male passes sperm to the female during an extremely clumsy and messy process. Sort of like the first time kids have sex.
Did he vote for OBamBam?
Better Question: How many times did he vote for OBammy?
The only thing that will live longer is a government program
Ha! Good stuff!
And to think that Hugh Hefner used a rabbit for his magazine's mascot.
Maybe he’s hoping to see the end of Global Communism.
Day after day after day, you continue to post the most hilarious stuff. DAYUM!
>
Posted on 10/28/2007 10:25:37 AM PDT by blam
Ming the clam is 'oldest animal'
Shakespeare was writing plays when the clam was a juvenile
A clam dredged up off the coast of Iceland is thought to have been the longest-lived creature discovered. Scientists said the mollusc, an ocean quahog clam, was aged between 405 and 410 years and could offer insights into the secrets of longevity.
Researchers from Bangor University in Wales said they calculated the clam's age by counting rings on its shell.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest-lived animal was an Arctica clam found in 1982 aged 220.
They are like tiny tape-recorders... sitting on the sea-bed and integrating signals about water temperature and food over time
Unofficially, another clam - found in an Icelandic museum - was discovered to be 374-years-old, Bangor University said, making their clam at least 31 years older.
The clam, nicknamed Ming after the Chinese dynasty in power when it was born, was in its infancy when Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne. Shakespeare was writing plays such as Othello and Hamlet.
Professor Chris Richardson, from Bangor University's School of Ocean Sciences, told the BBC: "The growth-increments themselves provide a record of how the animal has varied in its growth-rate from year to year, and that varies according to climate, sea-water temperature and food supply.
"And so by looking at these molluscs we can reconstruct the environment the animals grew in. They are like tiny tape-recorders, in effect, sitting on the sea-bed and integrating signals about water temperature and food over time."
'Escaping' old age
Prof Richardson said the clam's discovery could help shed light on how some animals can live to extraordinary ages.
"What's intriguing the Bangor group is how these animals have actually managed, in effect, to escape senescence [growing old]," he said.
"One of reasons we think is that the animals have got some difference in cell turnover rates that we would associate with much shorter-lived animals."
He said the university had received money from the UK charity Help The Aged to help fund its research.
'Clive of India's' tortoise dies (Robert Clive's 250-year old tortoise dies)
BBC ^ | Thursday, 23 March 2006, 15:50 GMT | BBC
Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006 12:55:06 AM by CarrotAndStick
|
A tortoise that once belonged to British colonial general Clive of India in the 18th Century has died in a zoo in Calcutta. Adwaita, "the only one" in Bengali, was found dead by keepers in Alipore Zoo on Wednesday. His shell cracked some months ago and a wound had developed. West Bengal officials said records showed Adwaita was at least 150 years old but other evidence pointed to 250. The shell of Adwaita, an Aldabra tortoise, will now be carbon-dated. Forestry minister in the West Bengal government, Jogesh Barman said: "Historical records show he was a pet of British general Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago." Mr Barman said Adwaita was probably brought from the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean and presented to Clive, an increasing force in the East India Company's military hierarchy. Shell preserved
Aldabra tortoises are found in the four-island Aldabra atoll of the Seychelles, a UN World Heritage Site that now has about 152,000 giant tortoises. They average about 120kg (265lbs) and are thought the longest-lived of all animals. The BBC's Amitabha Bhattasali in Calcutta says Adwaita brought in many of the zoo's visitors and when he fell sick for the first time eight years ago with a leg infection a full medical board was instigated to treat him. The director of the zoo, Subir Chowdhury, said Adwaita's shell would be preserved and kept there. One zookeeper told the Reuters news agency: "This is a sad day for us. We will miss him very much." Lord Clive, the son of a Shropshire squire, became a soldier and adventurer who rose through the East India Company. He won the key Battle of Plassey against the Nawab of Bengal in 1757. Lord Clive later became an opium addict and committed suicide in 1774 at the age of 49. |
I wonder if turtles measure the human life span in people years? ;-)
Guess how long it takes to train a turtle? 10 years? a psychologist uses a trained turtle to help kids overcome adversity ...
Very cool! Thanks!
is that a break-dancing turtle? if so, he be 'da bomb. :^)
Wow! 176 years old and a Boer War veteran too!
Just don't get that turtle started about politics!
They were close in those days.
If I'm not mistaken, Romeo and Juliet celebrates their romance.
They could be photos of the same tortoise—the angle is different. Of course if you’ve seen one Galapagos tortoise, you’ve seen them all...
That cold bad gundog bad LOL!
Don’t put this sweet creature with Helen Thomas
That cold bad gundog bad LOL!
Don’t put this sweet creature with Helen Thomas
That cold bad gundog bad LOL!
Don’t put this sweet creature with Helen Thomas
That looks like a Pterodactyl. There must be a story behind that pic.
Follow the video link .... it strange in a fascinating way .... kinda like a car wreck ...you just can’t turn away.
when i made my comment, i must admit that i hadn't even noticed your link. very cool. a trained turtle -who would have thought that possible? thanks!
The oldest living animal. Weight, 1700 pounds, measuring seven feet across the shell. Picture shows the box in which he was brought over from Hamburg, Germany. This enormous beast broke the box trying to get out, as also shown in picture.
It’s an interesting technique that the doc uses the turtle as an entree into a kid’s world. Hey. Whatever works.
“DO NOT WANT!”
[cool photo]
Ping!
I'd post a pic of Hef and those 3 gals but I'm at work...
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