The oldest tortoise in the world can be gay

Jonathan, a 186-year-old turtle on the British island, has been eating, sleeping and mating with another male tortoise for the past 26 years.

Experts discovered Jonathan's three-decade partner, the world's oldest tortoise, is actually a male turtle, Sun reported yesterday.

Turtle Jonathan - the world's oldest turtle.

At the age of 186, Jonathan is the oldest resident of St Helena Island, his overseas territory, 1,931km from southern Africa. The turtle moved to St Helena when he was 30 years old and was a gift to the island governor. At the age of 80, Jonathan became irritable, started shoving the couches and interrupting the residents' cricket matches on the lawn in front of the governor's mansion. The vet said Jonathan needed a partner.

In 1991, Jonathan met Frederica and shortly afterwards, the turtles began to mate regularly on every Sunday morning, according to Times. However, they never gave birth. The reason was revealed after veterinarians treated the trauma on the shell and discovered Frederica was actually a male turtle.

Female turtles and male turtles of all species do not have recognizable characteristics. Their gender is determined by small signs such as a notch on the apricot or the belly shape.

Catherine Man, a veterinarian on the island, said a couple of turtles are very active and have a healthy diet of green vegetables and vitamins. However, Jonathan is suffering from cataracts and loss of smell.

Jonathan's turtle was bathed for the first time in his life in March last year.(Video: YouTube).