{"id":206407,"date":"2026-04-04T03:28:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T03:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/worlds-oldest-tortoise-caught-in-viral-crypto-death-scam-st-helena-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T03:28:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T03:28:31","slug":"worlds-oldest-tortoise-caught-in-viral-crypto-death-scam-st-helena-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/worlds-oldest-tortoise-caught-in-viral-crypto-death-scam-st-helena-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"World\u2019s oldest tortoise caught in viral crypto death scam | St Helena – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fake X account posing as his vet sparked global false reports of Jonathan\u2019s death while soliciting crypto donations
At 194 years old, Jonathan the giant tortoise was a youngster when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne \u2013 and has now lived long enough to fall victim to a crypto scam.
News outlets including the BBC, Daily Mail and USA Today falsely reported his death after an X account posing as Jonathan\u2019s vet broke the news.
The post, attributed to \u201cJoe Hollins\u201d, claimed: \u201cHeartbroken to share that our beloved Jonathan, the world\u2019s oldest living land animal, has passed away today peacefully on Saint Helena.
\u201cAs his vet for many years, it was an honour to care for him \u2013 hand-feeding bananas, watching him bask in the sun and marvelling at his quiet wisdom. He leaves behind a legacy of resilience and longevity that inspired millions. Rest easy, old friend. You\u2019ll be missed more than words can say.\u201d
Though the post received 2m views and was reported as fact by the UK\u2019s national broadcaster, checks by the Guardian revealed the account was based in Brazil. The real vet, who does not use X, said: \u201cJonathan the tortoise is very much alive. I believe on X the person purporting to be me is asking for crypto donations, so it\u2019s not even an April fool joke. It\u2019s a con.\u201d
The impostor was indeed asking for cryptocurrency donations at the time the BBC published \u2013 and later retracted<\/a> \u2013 its report.
Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise, is the world\u2019s oldest known land animal. He has lived on the grounds of the governor\u2019s mansion on Saint Helena, since 1882, when he arrived as a gift to the South Atlantic island.
Nigel Phillips, the governor, was getting ready for bed on Wednesday night when he was inundated with anxious messages. He got up and searched the grounds to check on the tortoise. \u201cJonathan is asleep under a tree in the paddock,\u201d he told the Guardian, adding that the animal was \u201cvery much alive\u201d.
On Thursday morning, Phillips joked that Jonathan had issued a press statement: \u201cThe report of my death was an exaggeration \u2026 Mark Twain, not Oscar Wilde. Jonathan would nonetheless have had the chance enjoy both their works in the original first editions.\u201d
Despite being blind from cataracts and having lost his sense of smell, Jonathan remains hale and hearty with a strong appetite for bananas and a healthy libido \u2013 he tries to mate with two younger tortoises who also reside on the governor\u2019s property.
The governor\u2019s team trudged out into the rain on Thursday morning to take a picture of the sleepy-looking tortoise, who had just woken up from an 11-hour slumber. The twice-weekly local paper would not be out until later that day, so in lieu of that they posed the tortoise with an iPad showing the BBC homepage as proof of life.
Lying on the ground, slightly shrouded in shrubbery, Jonathan seemed oblivious to the global furore caused by the false news of his death. His shell was glimmering from the morning rain. He is likely to be in a bad mood; the tortoise much prefers sunshine, in which he basks with limbs stretched out and eyes half-closed.
The scam has rocked the community on the small island of approximately 4,440 people, where the tortoise is a local celebrity who has appeared on the reverse of St Helena\u2019s 5p coin.
Phillips shed some light on the tortoise\u2019s long life: \u201cJonathan\u2019s day is mostly spent grazing on grass. One day a week he is fed fruit, veg and salad to ensure he gets essential minerals. He has a sweet tooth. Tourists occasionally come to view him, but that is carefully managed to ensure the animals are not stressed.
\u201cBeyond that, there really is not much more to say about his daily routine. Perhaps the simplicity is the key to his longevity!\u201d
The hoax had a happy ending for Jonathan, who was given a double helping of his favourite snack of bananas in celebration of his resurrection. He was seen enthusiastically munching the chopped-up fruit from the hand of one of his keepers.
The real Hollins was momentarily worried about the fake news spread by his impersonator; the islanders are genuinely dreading the day Jonathan dies. He told the Guardian: \u201cIt makes one slightly nervous considering he\u2019s at least 194.\u201d<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fake X account posing as his vet sparked global false reports of Jonathan\u2019s death while soliciting crypto donationsAt 194 years old, Jonathan the giant tortoise was a youngster when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne \u2013 and has now lived long enough to fall victim to a crypto scam.News outlets including the BBC, Daily Mail […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":206408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-206407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}