New Books in Popular Culture The Vet at the End of the Earth: Adventures with Animals in the South Atlantic
Mar 5, 2026
Dr. Jonathan Hollins, a British veterinary surgeon with four decades of experience based on St. Helena, tells wild tales from the South Atlantic islands. He recounts nursing a 200-year-old tortoise back to life, relocating reindeer with clever baiting, and battling invasive species and dangerous wildlife across remote, rugged landscapes.
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Rescuing Jonathan The 200-Year-Old Tortoise
- Jonathan Hollins rushed to Plantation House when a jogger reported Jonathan the giant tortoise sprawled and apparently dead on the lawn.
- He found Jonathan alive, diagnosed starvation and sensory decline, and began hand-feeding weekly to restore strength and beak function.
Tortoise Genetics Reveal Quasi-Immortality
- Giant tortoises show 'quasi-immortality' by repairing methylome and telomeres, making them exceptionally cancer-resistant.
- Vanderbilt researchers sequenced Jonathan's genome to study these mechanisms for human biomedical insights.
Teach Hands-On Diagnostics For Low-Resource Settings
- Train students for resource-limited practice by having them perform on-site diagnostics like worm egg counts and blood smears.
- Jonathan advises teaching lateral thinking since island vets often must self-run tests and interpret results without labs.
