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As a photograph it looks fairly unremarkable - a tortoise nibbles at the grass in front of a Boer War prisoner and guard.
But the pictures helps to mark the reptile as the oldest animal on the planet.
Jonathan, the tortoise, is believed to be 178-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 178-years-old. He is the oldest inhabitant on St Helena and is claimed to be the oldest living tortoise in the world.
Full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...is-178-year-old-tortoise-called-Jonathan.html
But the pictures helps to mark the reptile as the oldest animal on the planet.
Jonathan, the tortoise, is believed to be 178-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 178-years-old. He is the oldest inhabitant on St Helena and is claimed to be the oldest living tortoise in the world.
Full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...is-178-year-old-tortoise-called-Jonathan.html
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