27/01/2026
Just love this ❤️
Imagine being born in 1832—a world without telephones, electricity, or photography. That’s when Jonathan, the Galápagos giant tortoise, first opened his eyes. Over the next 190+ years, he has watched the world change in ways no human could ever witness in a single lifetime.
Jonathan saw sailing ships replace rowboats in the Galápagos harbours. He watched explorers, naturalists, and scientists arrive to study the islands, taking careful notes of the unique creatures around him. He outlived countless generations of his own kind, standing as a quiet sentinel of the islands’ fragile beauty.
He witnessed telegraphs giving way to radios, horses replaced by cars, and the dawn of space travel. Wars raged, empires rose and fell, and humans hurried through life while Jonathan plodded along, slow, steady, and unbothered.
If only Jonathan could talk… imagine the stories he could tell! Tales of ships that vanished over the horizon, of storms that reshaped the islands, of visitors who came with curiosity and wonder—and of friends long gone who once walked beside him. He could tell us about the world before the world we know, and perhaps remind us to slow down and notice life as it truly is.
Today, Jonathan is a living treasure, still munching leaves and basking in the sun. He reminds us that life is long, slow, and full of stories—and that sometimes the quietest creatures carry the richest tales.
