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There isn’t a single type of land animal with a longer average lifespan than the tortoise. One of them, a shelled reptile known as Jonathan, has been alive for close to two hundred years, and that is still the case after a number of major news outlets falsely reported on his death after being duped by a crypto scammer.
The world’s oceans are home to the animals that boast the longest lifespan of any creatures on Earth. The so-called “immortal jellyfish” earned that moniker due to its ability to theoretically live forever, and there are several species of coral that can sustain themselves for multiple millennia.
Giant tortoises lead the way when it comes to the ones that spend the majority of their life on dry land. It takes them 50 years to officially reach maturity, and they can survive for well over a century when everything is said and done.
In 1882, some British sailors plucked a tortoise from an island in the Indian Ocean and transported it to St. Helena, an island around 2,000 miles off the west coast of Africa that’s been overseen by the United Kingdom since the 1830s.
The animal, which was eventually dubbed “Jonathan,” has resided there for close to 150 years, and while there’s no way to officially verify his age, the Guinness Book of World Records bestowed the honor of “World’s Oldest Tortoise” upon him at the age of 190 in 2022.
It appeared that title would be passed on to another one based on some news articles that made the rounds on Wednesday, but it turns out reports of his demise at the age of 193 were premature and made possible by a random person who managed to fool a number of outlets into relaying the false news of his demise.
The world’s oldest tortoise is not, in fact, dead despite reports from new outlets that were duped by a single tweet
The rise of the internet ushered in an era that was commonly referred to as the Information Age, but it’s also been responsible for the rise of the Misinformation Age due to the many hoaxes and scams that have proliferated online.
We were treated to the latest one on Wednesday (which just so happened to be April Fool’s Day) courtesy of someone with a verified account on Twitter/X who claimed to be Joe Hollins, the veterinarian who cares for Jonathan. They announced the tortoise had “passed away today peacefully,” and the tweet was reported as a fact by outlets including USA Today, The Daily Mail, and the BBC.
However, some people immediately suspected something was amiss, as the user in question had an account that was based in Brazil and was also using the news to solicit donations via cryptocurrency.
The actual Joe Hollins hopped on Facebook to set the record straight, bluntly stating “IT IS NOT TRUE” while telling The Guardian Jonathan is still “very much alive.”
The fake Collins tried to spin the hoax as an innocent April Fools’ joke (the tweet that sparked it has not been taken down but has been hit with a Community Note), but they’ve had their mentions flooded by angry people who’ve made it clear they did not find it amusing.
Here’s to hoping Jonathan will still be alive and kicking when he celebrates his unofficial 194th birthday on December 4th.