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Jonathan: The Tortoise Born When Andrew Jackson Was US President Is Still Alive
He is 189 years old and still has an active sex life
It is 1832. In the United States, Andrew Jackson wins his re-election for a second consecutive term. Wildly popular, he defeats all his opponents in an electoral college landslide. For the first time ever, the different political parties choose their candidates in national conventions. Things in the US are starting to get wild, with assassination attempts, fierce battles on the political scene, and of course the ugly stain of slavery and the Trail of Tears. The Civil War is just around the corner.
While all this is going on, on the other side of the world nature is taking its eternal course. On one of the atolls in the island archipelago of the Seychelles, an Aldabra giant tortoise lays her eggs. Around 20 in number, they are put in a dry, shallow nest and incubated for about 8 months. Once hatched, the tiny tortoises scatter about in order to live their life.
In an amazing example of co-evolution, these tortoises live on what is called tortoise turf. This is a group of around 20 different types of dwarf grasses and other plants. The special thing about them is that their seeds grow close to the ground. The tiny tortoises feed on this, and grow bigger and bigger. Among this…
