Turns out this 186-year-old tortoise has a gay lover
By Lia Eustachewich
October 19, 2017 | 3:34pm
Jonathan, now 186 years old, in a photo from 2008.
EPA
A 186-year-old tortoise on St. Helena has spent the past 26 years shacking up with a mate he’s never bred with – and now his keepers know why.
They’re gay lovers.
It turns out the elderly reptile fell in love with another male tortoise – long believed to be a female named Frederica, according to The Times in the UK.
The pair has been inseparable since 1991 when the French consul gifted Frederica to the governor of St. Helena as a mate for Jonathan.
Their keepers only recently learned that Frederica was really Frederic following a closer examination of his shell.
Jonathan is believed to be the oldest resident of the tiny UK territory, which is, coincidentally, struggling to legalize same-sex marriage.
The aging tortoise has lived through much of the island’s history since arriving in his 30s as a gift from the Seychelles in the 1880s.
He’s been photographed with monarchs, politicians and even prisoners held captive on St. Helena during the Boer war of 1899-1902.
Jonathan now has cataracts and has lost his sense of smell – but, as a creature of habit, eats at set times, takes daily naps in the long grass around 4 p.m. — and dutifully visits his mate every Sunday morning.
By Lia Eustachewich
October 19, 2017 | 3:34pm
Jonathan, now 186 years old, in a photo from 2008.
EPA
A 186-year-old tortoise on St. Helena has spent the past 26 years shacking up with a mate he’s never bred with – and now his keepers know why.
They’re gay lovers.
It turns out the elderly reptile fell in love with another male tortoise – long believed to be a female named Frederica, according to The Times in the UK.
The pair has been inseparable since 1991 when the French consul gifted Frederica to the governor of St. Helena as a mate for Jonathan.
Their keepers only recently learned that Frederica was really Frederic following a closer examination of his shell.
Jonathan is believed to be the oldest resident of the tiny UK territory, which is, coincidentally, struggling to legalize same-sex marriage.
The aging tortoise has lived through much of the island’s history since arriving in his 30s as a gift from the Seychelles in the 1880s.
He’s been photographed with monarchs, politicians and even prisoners held captive on St. Helena during the Boer war of 1899-1902.
Jonathan now has cataracts and has lost his sense of smell – but, as a creature of habit, eats at set times, takes daily naps in the long grass around 4 p.m. — and dutifully visits his mate every Sunday morning.
