Discover! >> The World Oldest Living Land Animal Is Still Alive After Getting Caught Up In A Crypto Scam

A giant Seychelles tortoise, believed to be the world’s oldest living land animal, is alive and well after claims he had died turned out to be part of an alleged crypto scam.

Posts emerged on Wednesday claiming Jonathan, who is thought to be 193 years old according to the official website devoted to him, was dead.

Reports of his demise were posted on X by the account @JoeHollinsVet, named after Joe Hollins, a vet who has taken care of Jonathan and previously spoken of his experiences.

The message read that he was “heartbroken” to announce that the “beloved” creature “has passed away today peacefully”.

Describing himself as Jonathan’s “vet for many years”, he said: “Rest easy, old friend. You’ll be missed more than words can say” and later thanked people “for the outpouring of love for Jonathan as we mourn his passing”.

But the Friends of the British Overseas Territories, quoting the island’s governor, Nigel Phillips, said “the real Joe Hollins does not have an X account, and that Jonathan the tortoise is alive. This account is soliciting crypto donations, has recently changed its username”.

Mr Phillips “has confirmed Jonathan Tortoise is alive and well – he has just checked on him”, he added.

Jonathan is a Seychelles giant tortoise, a subspecies of the Aldabra giant tortoise. His age is estimated to be 193 as of 2026, making him the oldest known living land animal. Jonathan now resides on the island of Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean.

In 2022, Jonathan’s estimated age exceeded that of the tortoise that Guinness World Records had recognised as the oldest recorded ever, Tu’i Malila, who died in Tonga in 1966 at the age of 189. Adwaita, an Aldabra giant tortoise that died in 2006 in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India, is believed to have lived to the age of 255 years, but this has not been confirmed