Crypto swindlers tried to defraud devastated charities by falsely claiming the death of the world’s oldest animal, Jonathan, was dead \u2013 but exclusive photos obtained by The Sun prove it was all a dirty hoax. <\/p>\n
The gentle giant tortoise, born half a century before the light bulb was invented, has lived long enough to be part of a viral crypto scam, now aged \u201cat least\u201d 194.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsign up for Sun<\/span> Newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n A malicious post on<\/p>\n Nearly 2 million people have viewed the post, which has been traced to a Brazilian account and which even prompted the BBC to publish the falsehood as fact.<\/p>\n But since hearing about the announcement from well-wishers, the real Hollins \u2013 who is not on X \u2013 has been busy spreading the word that the mythical beast is alive and well \u2013 and he even has the photos to prove it.<\/p>\n Speaking to The Sun from St Helena, Hollins said: \u201cI was up late trying to stop the flow.<\/p>\n open and return<\/p>\n The world’s oldest tortoise, Jonathan, is still alive after dying at the age of 193.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n hair-raising scene<\/p>\n The moment ravens peck at Rapunzel’s hair in latest Disneyland shock<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI was originally contacted by a friend of mine who was sent a copy of the post on X by an ex-FCDO friend of his.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was made clear to me that this was no April Fool as it was pulling at heartstrings to ask for crypto. It made it more serious and timing was of the essence. <\/p>\n \u201cEmails, messages and posts started coming in from former governors, friends, even my UK Neighbour<\/span> Sending condolences.<\/p>\n \u201cThen the BBC posted an article on the news website so it was clearly getting out of control. <\/p>\n “Sadly I suspect few donations would have been sent as everyone loves animal stories and Jonathan in particular is the world’s oldest land animal.”<\/p>\n This rumor spread a wave of panic on the island of 4,500 people, where Jono is a local resident. famous person<\/span> and even features<\/span> On the 5p coin. <\/p>\n A health checkup in the immaculate grounds of the Regency Plantation House \u2013 which Jonathan calls home \u2013 quickly dispelled the rumors. <\/p>\n \u201cEven though we knew it was a hoax, the governor’s wife, Emma, \u200b\u200bwho plays a deep and active role in Jono’s care, went to the barn to check on him,\u201d Hollins said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe somehow couldn’t investigate because it left that horrible slight feeling like it was a huge conspiracy to kill the world’s oldest land animal just to grab some cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me he is absolutely alive and active and we can all relax! <\/p>\n “When you’re at least 194 years old \u2013 and possibly over 200 \u2013 anything can happen.”<\/p>\n This is not the first time that Jonathan, as he affectionately calls Jono, has been mistakenly reported dead.<\/p>\n at the vet at the end of Earth<\/span>Hollins shared a story when a photo of a turtle lazily resting set off alarm bells.<\/p>\n Hollins explains, “He looked really dead \u2013 but in fact he was sunbathing after a cold night.” <\/p>\n \u201cCold-blooded creatures, I now know that they lie on the grass with their legs spread and their necks extended at full length to warm the blood.<\/p>\n \u201cThe same as us on Costa but without the sangria!\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his age, Jono shows no signs of slowing down and spends his days taking mud baths, eating bananas and watching shows with friends. tennis<\/span> matches.<\/p>\n And the tortoise still eats like a world-class endurance athlete.<\/p>\n “When we feed him, we’re the ones who have to stop because he’ll keep eating forever,” says Hollins.<\/p>\n “I’m always afraid he’s going to explode. His appetite is amazing.”<\/p>\n “I’m always wary of saying he’s really fine, because he could die tomorrow, but eventually something’s got to give.”<\/p>\n \n \t\t\t\t\t\tJonathan was born when Queen Victoria was only 13 years old and spent the first half century of his life lit only by candles and oil lamps, when the American Wild West was still in full flow.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n age<\/strong>: 193-194 years old<\/p>\n hatched<\/strong>: estimated c. 1832<\/p>\n Official Birthday:<\/strong> December 4, 1832<\/p>\n Birth<\/strong>: 100 years before sliced \u200b\u200bbread, the same year as the world’s first horse-drawn streetcar, and three years before Charles Darwin arrived in the Galapagos Islands (where he famously met other giant tortoises!).<\/p>\n weight<\/strong>: Estimated 150\u2013200 kg (330\u2013440 lb)<\/p>\n species:<\/strong> Seychelles giant tortoise (a subspecies of the Aldabra giant tortoise)<\/p>\n Place:<\/strong> Plantation House, Saint Helena Island (South Atlantic Ocean)<\/p>\n Guinness World Records:<\/strong> Oldest living land animal (2019), oldest chelonian ever discovered (2022)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Jonathan’s exact age is a mystery, but the “gentleman turtle” was born around 1832 in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n In 1882 when he was “fully mature” \u2013 a label given to turtles when they are at least 50 years old \u2013 he was brought to St. Helena.<\/p>\n Hollins previously told The Sun: “I find her age astonishing. And it’s surprising how many veterinarians are caring for the world’s oldest known land animal! What a privilege!”<\/p>\n Jonathan is “instrumental” in not only bringing tourists to the island, but also attracting famous faces including royalty.<\/p>\n He met the late Queen Elizabeth II only in 1947.<\/p>\n Their most recent celebrity visitors have included the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and Prince Edward, who was photographed walking with the famous turtle.<\/p>\n Hollins has known Jonathan since 2009 and says it has been an “honor” to take care of him.<\/p>\n Jonathan has no sense of smell and has limited vision but he knows the vet’s voice “very well”.<\/p>\n Hollins said: \u201cI think the loss of his senses has made him very quiet, very gentle.<\/p>\n “He’s as gentle as a tortoise, very sweet, and he knows my voice very well. He knows the voices of those who feed him.”<\/p>\n But Jonathan’s laid-back attitude once almost cost him his life when one of the three other tortoises living with him, David, became aggressive while eating.<\/p>\n Hollins told how David was hit hard Power<\/span> Is “potentially dangerous”. <\/p>\n He said: “You’ve got a 200kg stone on four pillars and they move their legs very quickly, pull their heads and use it shell<\/span> In the form of a ram.<\/p>\n “He wouldn’t do that to us but it almost cost Jonathan his life.”<\/p>\n And this was not Jonathan’s only encounter with death.<\/p>\n Since being born in 1832 or earlier, Jonathan Turtle has seen many winds of change.<\/p>\n Many British kings are also included in this.<\/p>\n they are:<\/p>\n When Hollins met him about 20 years ago, it seemed he was on his last legs.<\/p>\n Arriving to care for the turtles, Hollins found Jonathan in a pitiful condition, with his beak broken and cataracts.<\/p>\n Hollins reflected: “He was thin, and I assumed he was actually dying, to be honest. He was going to pass out, whether it was years or next<\/span>“<\/p>\n But after Hollins improved Jonathan’s diet and housing he was able to nurse him back to health.<\/p>\n \u201cThey revitalized, they literally rejuvenated and revitalized, and it’s in them Power<\/span> It is not our place to do this.<\/p>\n “He gained weight, became more active, everything reversed. It was quite incredible.”<\/p>\n When first asked how long he thought Jonathan could live, Hollins simply replied: “How long is a piece of string?”<\/p>\n By 2024, Jonathan is living a peaceful life roaming around the island with three other giant tortoises: David, Emma, \u200b\u200band fred<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Crypto swindlers tried to defraud devastated charities by falsely claiming the death of the world’s oldest animal, Jonathan, was dead \u2013 but exclusive photos obtained by The Sun prove it was all a dirty hoax. The gentle giant tortoise, born half a century before the light bulb was invented, has lived long enough to be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[1684,14875,1507,12354,692,3658],"class_list":["post-36450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-news","tag-cash","tag-conmen","tag-crypto","tag-dear","tag-jonathan","tag-kill"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36450"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36452,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36450\/revisions\/36452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image_8ee3fb.png?w=360&h=240&crop=1\"\/)
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\nmeet jonathan the turtle<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2F345HP-JS1070983551.jpg?quality=90&&strip=all&&w=620&&h=413&&crop=1\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\ngentle giant<\/h2>\n
The kings among whom Jonathan lived<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/NINTCHDBPICT000488651537.jpg?quality=90&&strip=all&&w=620&&h=413&&crop=1\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n
back from the brink<\/h2>\n