Overview
- St Helena authorities and Guinness World Records confirmed Jonathan is alive and well after panic over a false death post.
- The hoax began with an X account posing as his veterinarian, Joe Hollins, which posted a fake obituary and asked for cryptocurrency donations.
- Hollins denied the claim and said the tortoise was fine, undercutting the imposter’s later attempt to call the post an April Fools’ joke.
- Major outlets including the BBC, Daily Mail and USA Today initially repeated the claim before issuing corrections once the fraud was flagged.
- Jonathan has lived at Plantation House on Saint Helena since 1882 and was recognized by Guinness in 2024 as the longest-lived land animal, with his exact age estimated at about 193 years.