Collections Online | British Museum

Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.

Jonathan the Giant Tortoise

Header: Jonathan the Giant Tortoise
Also known as: Jonathan the Giant Tortoise; primary name: Jonathan the Giant Tortoise
Details: individual; Male
Other dates: 1832- (estimated)
Biography: Jonathan is a Seychelles Giant tortoise (Dipsochelys hololissa) that lives on the island of St Helena. Jonathan was brought to the island from the Seychelles in 1882 along with three other tortoises at about 50 years of age. He was named in the 1930s by Governor Sir Spencer Davis. His possible age was realized when a photograph was uncovered from a collection Boer War images showing a tortoise next to a war prisoner around the year 1900. On December 5, 2008, the internet news site Daily Mail ran a story claiming Jonathan is the same tortoise pictured in the photograph. If he was about 70 years old at the time of the photo, he could now be the oldest living animal on earth. He appears on the reverse of some St. Helena 5 pence coins.

Museum number: 2008,4194.862 |
Producer name: BIOG114607 Made by:Royal Mint |
Authority: BIOG69033 Ruler:HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom |
Production date: 2003 |
Production place: Issued in:St Helena (dependent state)Minted in:Llantrisant

Museum number: 2008,4194.861 |
Producer name: BIOG114607 Made by:Royal Mint |
Authority: BIOG69033 Ruler:HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom |
Production date: 1998 |
Production place: Issued in:St Helena (dependent state)Minted in:Llantrisant

Museum number: 2008,4194.863 |
Producer name: BIOG114607 Made by:Royal Mint |
Authority: BIOG69033 Ruler:HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom |
Production date: 2006 |
Production place: Issued in:St Helena (dependent state)Minted in:Llantrisant