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World's oldest land animal celebrates 190th birthday

Tortoises - Level 0

We all like birthdays. Jonathan the tortoise just had his 190th birthday. He is the world's oldest land animal. He was born in 1832. Some scientists think Jonathan could be 200 years old. He was born in the Seychelles, before Britain's Queen Victoria became queen. He was here before the postage stamp.

Jonathan had a good birthday. He had a three-day party, with a special vegetable birthday cake. He did not get to see this because he is blind. He also cannot smell. His ears are OK, so he could hear people singing "Happy Birthday". He also has lots of energy. He likes to stretch his legs and relax in the sun.

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Tortoises - Level 1

We all like birthdays. Some of us have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal just had his 190th birthday. It is a giant turtle called Jonathan, who was born in 1832. Some scientists think Jonathan might be ten years older. He could be 200 years old. Jonathan was born in the Seychelles. He was born before Britain's Queen Victoria became queen, and before the invention of the postage stamp and the *.

Jonathan had a good birthday. He had a three-day party, with a special tortoise birthday cake full of his favourite vegetables. Sadly, Jonathan did not get to see anything because he is blind. He also cannot smell. However, his ears are OK, so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being sung. Also, he still has plenty of energy. He also likes to relax in the sun. His vet said: "On mild days, he will sunbathe – his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell."

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Tortoises - Level 2

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We all like birthdays. Some people live long enough to have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal just celebrated his 190th birthday. It is a giant turtle called Jonathan. Zoologists think he was born in 1832, but there are no official records. Some scientists think Jonathan might be ten years older. He could be as old as 200. Jonathan was born in the Seychelles. He was taken to the British overseas territory of St Helena in 1882. Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen Victoria became queen. He was born before the invention of the postage stamp, refrigeration, and the gun*.

Jonathan had a good birthday. He had a three-day party. Chefs made a special tortoise birthday cake that was full of his favourite vegetables. St Helena printed a set of postage stamps to celebrate his birthday. Sadly, Jonathan did not get to see any of this because he is blind. He also cannot smell. However, he has an excellent sense of hearing, so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being sung. Jonathan's vet said the giant tortoise still has plenty of energy. He also likes to relax in the sun. He said: "On mild days, he will sunbathe – his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell."

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Tortoises - Level 3

Everybody likes a birthday. Some people live long enough to have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal has just celebrated his 190th birthday. The animal is a Seychelles giant turtle called Jonathan. Zoologists believe he was born in 1832, but there are no official records of his birth. Some scientists think Jonathan might actually be ten years older. He could be as old as 200. Jonathan was born in the Seychelles. He was taken to the British overseas territory of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1882 as a gift for the St Helena governor. Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen Victoria became queen, and before the invention of the postage stamp, Morse code, refrigeration, and the gun*.

Jonathan's vets say he had a good birthday. There was a three-day party for him. Chefs made him a special tortoise birthday cake that was full of his favourite vegetables. St Helena also launched a set of special postage stamps to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, Jonathan did not get to see any of the celebrations because he is blind. He also has no sense of smell. However, he has an excellent sense of hearing, so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being sung. Jonathan's vet, Joe Hollins, said the giant tortoise still has plenty of energy. He also likes to relax in the sun. Mr Hollins said: "On mild days, he will sunbathe – his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat and transfer it to his core."

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