The world's oldest living land animal may have been through periods in time that many humans have only read in the history books but the creature has been deprived of one thing that many of us do regularly, take a bath.
Fortunately, after 184 years of its existence, Jonathan the giant tortoise has finally gotten his first bath. The tortoise, which currently lives and is considered a national treasure on the British territory of St. Helena in the Atlantic, received scrubbing from Joe Hollins, a local veterinarian.
Hollins said that the purpose of giving Jonathan a bath was for aesthetic reason. The cleaning of Jonathan's nearly two centuries worth of dirt was also made ahead of an anticipated Royal visit. A member of the Royal family is expected to visit the small island this coming May for the dedication of a new airport.
To protect the creature's shell, the veterinarian used loofah, soft brush and a surgical soap. Surgical soap is not caustic while the gently-used loofah and soft brushes would not cause damage to the shell.
Hollins said that despite the tortoise's age, he thinks that it was the animal's first bath. It also appears that the cleanup gave the Jonathan a wonderful experience.
"In the past Jonathan's keepers had a rather laissez faire attitude to the tortoises on St Helena and so this is probably his first wash in 184 years," Hollins said. "I don't know whether that was the vibrations he found soothing or he was thinking 'At last, I've had my first bath!'.
The veterinarian said that he hopes it would not take more than a hundred years before the tortoise will have its next bath again.
Eight British monarchs have been crowned during Jonathan's lifetime. The animal has also seen 28 British governors come and go during its time on the St. Helena island.
Giant tortoises are often expected to live until 150 years old. Jonathan is nearly two centuries old but many hope that he will still have more years ahead as he was switched to a more nutritious diet consists of carrots, apples, bananas, cucumber and guava last year.
"I changed his diet and started to give him a mixed bowl of fruit and vegetables like apples, carrots, lettuce, guavas and bananas which are very high in calories," Hollins has said about Jonathan's new diet.
"Since then his life has been transformed. He has put on weight and is a lot more active and is walking more than he used to."
