Imagine waiting nearly 200 years to be squeaky clean. That's how long it took one big tortoise.
Jonathan the Giant Tortoise, believed to be the oldest known living land animal on Earth, finally got his first bath.
The massive reptile is estimated to be 184 years old and lives on the small British island territory of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The historic event took place on March 19, and was captured on video and shared by the island’s government. Judging from his reaction, Jonathan didn’t seem too fazed by all the fuss.
According to the island’s website, veterinarian Dr. Joe Hollins bathed Jonathan after he cleaned the shell of a female tortoise. Hollins said he used “gentle, circular scrubbing” with non-abrasive materials. But it wasn’t because he needed it.
“It is purely for aesthetic reasons. We want visitors and tourists on the Island to witness the tortoises in their true form, without the obstruction of moss and lichen on their shells,” Hollins said. “There is so much interest in Jonathan, St Helena’s most famous animal resident, and we want all who visit him to see him at his best.”
The tortoise, considered a “national treasure,” was given as a gift to the island in the late 1800s by the governor of the Seychelles. Jonathan was about 50 years old at the time.
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Jonathan lives on the grounds of Plantation House, the official residence of the island’s governor.
