It Is Jonathan, A Tortoise Who Was Hatched In The 1830s And Is Still Alive Today

However, Johnathan ended up on St. Helena which is fortunate. At the same time, it is confusing how he ended up in St. Helena. The leading theory would be that he got there during the 17th Century when ships that could contain hundreds of easily-stacked tortoises, like a fast-food takeaway, were traveling all over the world. It is estimated that over 200,000 tortoises were killed in the Galapagos islands and eaten them. Possibly Johnathan escaped from this fate by becoming the fascinating, exotic pet of Hudson Janisch, who was the governor in the 1880s. It is thought that he was bought to the Island as a mature adult in 1882.