
The average life expectancy of Canadians today is roughly eighty years. Turtles and tortoises can live far longer. Just last year, a tortoise named Jonathan, who holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest ever chelonian, turned 190 years old.1 We asked Rita da Silva, a conservation demographer who conducted a study at the University of Southern Denmark on aging rates in turtles, what secrets these shelled seniors hold to living a long life.
How do turtles and tortoises age differently from humans?