Yale E360

A 194-Year-Old Tortoise Becomes an Unexpected Lens on Human Longevity

Jonathan, the giant tortoise widely described as the world’s oldest living land animal, has become an unlikely scientific touchstone in the global search for longer, healthier lives. Researchers and commentators say his extraordinary lifespan may help illuminate how some species resist aging, even as experts caution that animal longevity cannot be directly translated into human medicine.