Photo of a tortoise with grass in its mouth

Gillian Moore/Alamy Stock Photo 

CCSS

R.1, R.2, R.7, W.4, W.6, W.7, W.8

The Amazing Life of Jonathan

Meet the world’s oldest known living land animal: a 191-year-old tortoise. 

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS

Jonathan in the 1880s 

Shutterstock.com 

YUM! 
Jonathan’s favorite foods are bananas and guavas.

Jim McMahon/Mapman ®

Where in the World?
Jonathan lives on St. Helena, a tropical island in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The Numbers

1832
That’s the year Jonathan likely hatched.

40
That’s how many U.S. presidents have served during his life.

100-150
That’s how many years giant tortoises like Jonathan usually live.

Things invented since Jonathan hatched: 

Shutterstock.com (Car); The Granger Collection (Telephone, Television); John T. Daniels (Airplane)

1. The telephone 
1876


2. The car
1886


3. The airplane
1903


4. The television
1927

Other Old-Timers

How do the longest-living members of other animal species stack up?

PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images (Bobi); Album/Alamy Stock Photo (Old Billy); Christina Bush Photography (Cheetah); The Brookfield Zoo (Cookie)

1. Bobi the Dog 
31 years and counting!


2. Old Billy the horse
62 years


3. Cheetah the chimpanzee
80 Years


4. Cookie the cockatoo
83 years

YOUR TURN: 
Research one of the animals from the graph above. Then make an infographic about its life!

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Skills Sheets (2)
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