At 192 years old, Jonathan the giant tortoise is the oldest known living land animal. A new study offers clues as to his incredible longevity.
Jonathan was born in the Seychelles in 1832, but since 1882, he has lived on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, where he resides at the home of its governor. Today, he is roughly a century older than most other Seychelles giant tortoises.
So why has Jonathan lived so long? An analysis of cheek scrapings has found that he is unusually blessed with good genes — not just genes that encode for good health, but genes that resist wear and tear.
Jonathan bears dozens of genetic variants that help him combat aging by curbing inflammation, regulating insulin, and warding off cancer. But also, his genes are uncommonly good at repairing themselves, according to the research, which was published in Science Advances.
“Nature has already solved the puzzle of aging in remarkable ways, and Jonathan’s genome provides a blueprint for cellular resilience,” said lead author Stephen Clark, chief scientist at Kallel, a nonprofit that researches longevity.
Increasingly, scientists are finding that older animals play a critical role in nature by helping their younger kin to survive. While conservationists have long prioritized the survival of younger animals, a growing body of research shows that older animals hold knowledge that guides survival, play outsized roles in reproduction, and possess stronger defenses against disease.
“Not all individuals contribute equally,” Keller Kopf, an ecologist at Charles Darwin University, told Yale Environment 360. “Older animals play roles that are often invisible in simple population counts.”
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