{"id":675,"date":"2026-06-21T19:33:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T19:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/?p=675"},"modified":"2026-06-21T19:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T19:33:43","slug":"world-news-worlds-oldest-living-land-animal-a-194-year-old-tortoise-honored-with-prestigious-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/?p=675","title":{"rendered":"World News World\u2019s oldest living land animal, a 194-year-old tortoise, honored with prestigious award"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"single__content entry-content m-bottom\">\n<p>He is slow and steady \u2014 and winning the race against time.<\/p>\n<p>A 194-year-old tortoise\u00a0was just honored with Guinness World Records\u2019 prestigious ICON award.<\/p>\n<p>Born around 1832, Jonathan, the world\u2019s oldest living land animal, was given the title in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.guinnessworldrecords.com\/news\/icons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">record book\u2019s latest edition<\/a>, alongside greats like John Cena and Shohei Ohtani.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"39738994\"><\/button><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-39738994\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?w=576\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 2000w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=169,300&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 169w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=768,1366&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 768w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=576,1024&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 576w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=864,1536&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 864w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=1152,2048&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1152w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=337,600&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 337w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=331,589&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 331w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=279,496&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 279w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=362,644&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 362w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=276,491&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 276w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=159,282&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 159w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=116,206&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 116w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=40,71&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 40w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=22,40&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 22w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=39,70&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 39w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=30,54&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 30w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=112,200&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 112w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=231,411&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=322,573&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 322w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=300,533&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=248,441&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 248w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=34,60&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 34w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=45,80&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 45w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=370,658&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 370w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=1200,2134&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=33,58&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 33w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=88,156&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 88w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649557.jpg?resize=28,50&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 28w\" alt=\"Jonathan the tortoise, oldest living land animal, next to his Guinness World Records ICON certificate.\" width=\"332\" height=\"590\" data-modal-image=\"39738994\" \/><figcaption>Jonathan the tortoise is the oldest living land animal.<span class=\"credit\">x\/GWR<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Seychelles giant tortoise, who lives in<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is also the oldest turtle ever recorded.<\/p>\n<p>The local legend has lived at the Plantation House,\u00a0the official residence of the Governor of Saint Helena, since arriving there in 1882 at the age of 50.<\/p>\n<p>The remarkable reptile was sent there from his native Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, as a gift for the incoming governor, and has since been there for 31 governors\u2019 terms.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--trending inline-module--more--thirds\" data-source-unit=\"Explore More - Trending\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__content\">\n<div class=\"layout layout--thirds\">\n<div class=\"layout__grid layout__grid--gap-10\">\n<div class=\"layout__item\">\n<div class=\"layout__inner b-top b-top-none-md p-top p-top-none-md b-left-md p-left-md\">\n<div class=\"story story--i-flex story--i-flex-none-md\">\n<h3 class=\"story__headline headline headline--xxs\"><a class=\"t-color-black\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/20\/world-news\/three-uk-inmates-sentenced-for-murdering-child-killer-kyle-bevan-in-prison-attack\/\" data-ga4-event=\"{&quot;event_name&quot;:&quot;ux_engagement&quot;,&quot;event_label&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/20\/world-news\/three-uk-inmates-sentenced-for-murdering-child-killer-kyle-bevan-in-prison-attack\/&quot;,&quot;source_unit&quot;:&quot;Explore More - Trending - center&quot;,&quot;source_position&quot;:1}\" data-image-url=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/killers.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;1781922384\">Three inmates sentenced to life behind bars for murdering child killer in 5-minute prison attack<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cJonathan\u2019s recognition as a Guinness World Records ICON is warmly welcomed by the people of St. Helena,\u201d Nigel Phillips CBE, the current Governor of Saint Helena,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sainthelena.gov.sh\/st-helena-welcomes-global-recognition-as-jonathan-named-a-guinness-world-records-icon\/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSgnvVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFtbUtCdkJCa3ltSnZFN25xc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHuxhWPpU9fy2fpWevMQ8wh7qxXvE7JyUHNePyrJeZG3m8a7sI5PAK__VgVnA_aem_pb199aOIgtJcMZKwGxL2Gg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0said in a\u00a0statement.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor generations, he has been regarded as a local icon, deeply embedded in the island\u2019s identity and collective memory. This global acknowledgement reflects what the community has long known, that Jonathan is not only remarkable in age, but truly special to St. Helena and its people.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"39739003\"><\/button><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-39739003\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?w=576\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 2000w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=169,300&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 169w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=768,1366&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 768w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=576,1024&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 576w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=864,1536&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 864w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=1152,2048&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1152w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=337,600&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 337w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=331,589&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 331w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=279,496&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 279w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=362,644&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 362w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=276,491&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 276w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=159,282&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 159w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=116,206&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 116w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=40,71&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 40w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=22,40&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 22w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=39,70&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 39w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=30,54&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 30w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=112,200&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 112w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=231,411&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=322,573&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 322w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=300,533&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=248,441&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 248w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=34,60&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 34w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=45,80&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 45w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=370,658&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 370w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=1200,2134&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=33,58&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 33w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=88,156&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 88w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/194-years-seychelles-giant-tortoise-131649558.jpg?resize=28,50&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 28w\" alt=\"Jonathan the Seychelles giant tortoise in a grassy enclosure.\" width=\"332\" height=\"590\" data-modal-image=\"39739003\" \/><figcaption>The local legend has lived at the official residence of the Governor of Saint Helena since 1882.<span class=\"credit\">x\/GWR<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Phillips also held a press conference on June\u00a017 in recognition of Jonathan\u2019s impressive achievement.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, Phillips officially announced Jonathan\u2019s birthday as Dec. 4, 1832.<\/p>\n<div class=\"comments-inline-cta\" data-comment-count=\"\" data-prompt=\"What do you think?\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"single__footer\">\n<footer class=\"article-footer\">\n<div class=\"article-footer__read-next\" data-id=\"52044ddf0d7cf0e59e14175e4c99adc5\">\n<div class=\"story story--next b-top b-bottom\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>He is slow and steady \u2014 and winning the race against time. A 194-year-old tortoise\u00a0was just honored with Guinness World Records\u2019 prestigious ICON award. Born around 1832, Jonathan, the world\u2019s oldest living land animal, was given the title in the\u00a0record book\u2019s latest edition, alongside greats like John Cena and Shohei Ohtani. Jonathan the tortoise is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=675"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":677,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675\/revisions\/677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aluremart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}