In Haliburton, Grace the 125-year-old turtle has outlasted bubonic plague, speeding cars and ever-shrinking wetlands
Around the time Grace was born, Ukrainian scientist Wademar Haffkine had just created a vaccine in record time to combat bubonic plague and was testing it on himself, the first human trial in history.
As Grace took her first steps in the world, future prime minister Lester B. Pearson was born and Queen Victoria became the first monarch to mark 60 years on England’s throne. Dracula by Bram Stoker was published and Thomas Edison’s kinetoscope device that produced moving pictures was patented.
Grace is older than any living human being, which makes sense because she’s a snapping turtle. The species can live over 275 years and, based on the size of her shell, Grace is at least 125 years old. She lives in Haliburton County, Ont., in a wetland next to three lakes, a hospital, a high school and an elementary school.