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submitted 9 months ago by Emperor@feddit.uk to c/andfinally@feddit.uk

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has made friends with the world's oldest living land animal - a giant tortoise named Jonathan.

Sir Lindsay presented a Guinness World Record certificate to the 192-year-old reptile during a visit to the island of St Helena.

...

Sharing a birthday with Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, Jonathan has lived through the reigns of eight British monarchs.

He met both George VI and the future Elizabeth II during their visit to the island in 1947, as well as the Duke of Edinburgh earlier this year.

He has lived through a number of major historical events, including the first photograph of a person (1838), the building of the Eiffel Tower (1887) and the first people to walk on the moon (1969).

Sir Lindsay, 66, has several colourful pets of his own including a much smaller tortoise called Maggie. He has previously joked that she has a "hard shell and isn't for turning".

He said: "As a massive animal lover, and owner of a three-stone tortoise, I have been really looking forward to meeting Jonathan and giving him the Guinness World Record for being the oldest recorded tortoise."

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[-] Emperor@feddit.uk 4 points 9 months ago

Now that puts it in perspective!

this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2024
31 points (100.0% liked)

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