Tortoises are the absolute champions of slow living, and that slow living seems to be part of why they live so long. Their hearts beat just a few times a minute when they’re resting, their digestion takes weeks, and their cells age incredibly slowly.
Galápagos tortoises - the big domed ones from the islands Charles Darwin visited - regularly live more than 100 years, and some hit 150 or even 180. On the island of Saint Helena lives a Seychelles tortoise named Jonathan who, as of today, is around 193 years old. He’s the oldest known land animal alive. He was born before photographs existed.
Tortoises can also go almost a whole year without eating or drinking, slowing their metabolism down to almost nothing. That’s how their ancestors survived being hauled around the world on old sailing ships, sometimes stacked in ship holds for months - and it’s part of why some of those ships’ tortoises are still alive today.
