A creature born before the telegraph, who has met multiple generations of British royalty in person, recently became the target of a viral cryptocurrency death scam at the staggering estimated age of 193. Jonathan the giant tortoise bridges two impossibly different worlds.

This episode unpacks the near two-century life of the oldest known living land animal, who resides on the remote island of St. Helena. It examines the photographic and historical evidence proving his age, the medical and social support keeping him alive, and how an animal whose life began in the 1830s ended up as bait in a 2026 financial crime that fooled major news outlets.

• How an 1886 photograph and his fully-mature 1882 arrival date establish a hatch year no later than 1832
• His blindness from cataracts and lost sense of smell, requiring a specialized ...