Buzz
Some incredible creatures have lived among us for centuries, with a few even surpassing the thousand-year mark. Just imagine an animal that witnessed the signing of the Declaration of Independence and is still alive today.
While determining the exact ages of wild animals can be challenging, scientists have developed techniques to estimate their ages. In fact, we know with certainty the ages of some animals that have lived either in captivity or within zoos. You'll be amazed at how long these animals can live.
10. Charlie The Parrot
Charlie, a macaw parrot born in 1899, is 119 years old as of 2018. He was bought by Peter Oram in 1965 for his pet shop. Oram eventually brought Charlie home because the parrot had developed a habit of swearing and repeating anti-Nazi phrases. It's believed Charlie learned these phrases from none other than wartime British prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill, who is said to have purchased him in 1937.
Churchill's daughter has denied that her father owned the macaw. She stated that the family combed through photos and records but found no evidence to suggest Churchill ever had a macaw. She acknowledged that her father did have a parrot in the 1930s, but it was an African grey, not a macaw.
Some speculate that the family may be distancing themselves from the idea that Winston Churchill owned Charlie due to the bird's controversial behavior, which might not cast them in the best light.
9. Minivan-Sized Sea Sponge
A sea sponge measuring 3.7 meters (12 ft) wide and 2.1 meters (7 ft) long, the size of a minivan, holds the record as the largest ever found. It was located 2,100 meters (7,000 ft) beneath the surface, between Hawaii and Midway Atoll. While researchers couldn’t pinpoint its exact age, its remarkable size suggests it may be thousands of years old.
In similar shallow waters, smaller sponges have been known to live for more than 2,300 years. This giant sponge could be of a similar age, if not older. Some scientists even suggest that it might be the oldest known living animal.
The age of the minivan-sized sea sponge is not the only enigma. Researchers have also been unable to identify its genus.
8. George The Lobster
In 2009, George, aged 140, became known as the oldest lobster ever discovered. He was caught off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, and sold to City Crab and Seafood restaurant in New York City. There, he lived in a tank like a mascot, while children posed for photos with him. Eventually, two diners spotted George and contacted PETA.
PETA requested that George be released back into the ocean, and the restaurant agreed. Just 10 days after his capture, George was returned to the Atlantic. Both PETA and the restaurant estimated his age based on his weight.
A close rival for the title of oldest lobster is Louie, who is 132 years old. Louie spent 20 years in the aquarium of a New York restaurant before being set free again in the sea. Butch Yamali, the restaurant owner, inherited Louie when he purchased the business. Yamali rejected multiple offers to eat Louie, including one for $1,000 to have him cooked for Father’s Day.
7. Unnamed Greenland Shark
An unnamed female Greenland shark currently holds the record for the oldest vertebrate on the planet. Estimated to have been born between 1501 and 1744, she is believed to be between 274 and 517 years old as of 2018. Even at her youngest age of 274, she is the oldest-known living vertebrate. Before her discovery, the oldest vertebrate title was held by a 211-year-old bowhead whale.
It has long been known that Greenland sharks have impressive lifespans, but their exact age was a mystery. These sharks grow about one centimeter (0.4 in) per year, reach sexual maturity at 150 years, and can grow up to 5 meters (16 ft) in length when fully grown.
To estimate the average age of Greenland sharks, scientists developed a method involving the dating of each shark’s eye lens. This technique was tested on 28 Greenland sharks caught in trawler nets, with the unnamed female among them. While some sharks perished after being caught, there’s no record of this particular female shark dying.
6. Muja The Alligator
The oldest American alligator in captivity resides in a Serbian zoo. His name is Muja, and he is believed to be at least 80 years old. He was brought to the Belgrade Zoo from Germany in 1937, when he was already an adult, two years before the outbreak of World War II.
Muja survived three bombings of Belgrade and the turmoil of the Balkan crisis in the 1990s. The first two bombings occurred during World War II in 1941 and 1944, wiping out every animal in the zoo except for Muja.
Muja has generally enjoyed good health throughout his life. However, in 2012, he underwent the amputation of his right front foot after developing gangrene. Prior to Muja, the world’s oldest alligator was Cabulitis, who passed away at the Riga Zoo in Latvia in 2007 at the age of 75.
5. Jonathan The Tortoise
Jonathan is believed to have been born in 1832, making him 186 years old as of 2018. His veterinarian, Joe Hollins, estimates that Jonathan is no younger than 160 years old. The average lifespan of a tortoise is typically around 150 years.
Jonathan resides on the island of St. Helena, a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. He was brought there in 1882, and a photo of him was taken in 1902. Jonathan lives at Plantation House, the official residence of the governor of St. Helena, alongside five other tortoises.
In 1991, the French consul to St. Helena gifted a female tortoise named Frederica to the governor, hoping that Jonathan would mate with her. However, Jonathan never did, although he did occasionally visit Frederica.
It wasn’t until Frederica went to the vet for treatment of a shell injury that it was discovered that Frederica was actually a male tortoise named Frederick.
4. Dakshayani The Elephant
Lin Wang, an Asian elephant, holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest elephant ever recorded. Known affectionately as Grandpa Lin, he passed away at a Taiwanese zoo in February 2003 at the age of 86, a remarkable age for an Asian elephant. Typically, these elephants live around 60 years in the wild.
Grandpa Lin's life was extensively documented. He was used by the Japanese to transport supplies during World War II until being captured by the Chinese in 1943. He was later relocated to a Taiwanese zoo in 1954, where he lived until his death.
Since this list focuses on living animals, the title of the world's oldest elephant is currently held by Dakshayani. This Asian elephant, owned by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) which manages several temples in India, was reported to be 86 years old in 2016. TDB had even applied to Guinness World Records for Dakshayani to be officially recognized as the oldest elephant, although there’s no record confirming the title.
Some, however, argue that neither Lin Wang nor Dakshayani is the world's oldest elephant. They believe the title actually belongs to Indria, another Asian elephant that lived in an Indian sanctuary. Indria was thought to be between 85 and 90 years old when she passed away.
3. Granny The Orca
Known as J2, or “Granny” to her admirers, she holds the title of the oldest-known killer whale. Born in 1911, this would make her 107 years old as of 2018. Granny roams the wild, leading the J pod, which inhabits Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia. For context, female killer whales in the wild typically live to be 50, although some can live as long as 80 years.
Granny doesn't have an identity tag but is easily recognizable by a distinctive cut on her dorsal fin. She was captured in the 1960s from Puget Sound along with other whales intended for a marine aquarium. Once it was determined she was past her childbearing years, she was released back into the wild.
However, there are growing suspicions that Granny may have passed away. The last confirmed sighting of her was in the fall of 2016, where she was seen swimming alongside an orphaned whale she had adopted. Afterward, the orphan was spotted swimming alone. There’s also some debate about Granny's true age. Analysis of her bodily chemicals suggests she could be anywhere from her mid-sixties to her eighties.
2. Wisdom The Albatross
At 67 years old, Wisdom holds the record as the world’s oldest known wild bird. She’s a Laysan albatross, a species typically living for about 50 years. Wisdom was living in the wild when her age was discovered during a tagging event in 2002. It was revealed that she had an earlier tag from 1956.
In 1956, Wisdom was estimated to be six years old. If she were any younger, she would’ve been under five at the time. Since 2002, she’s been spotted annually, always returning to the same nesting site at Midway Atoll that she’s used throughout her life.
What’s particularly remarkable about Wisdom is that she lays one egg per year and has successfully hatched 39 chicks over her lifetime. While not all albatrosses lay eggs annually, those that do only raise a single chick at a time. Albatrosses are known for their monogamous relationships, and Wisdom has outlived at least one mate in her long life.
1. An Unnamed Brandt’s Myotis (Bat)
A 41-year-old male Brandt’s myotis from Siberia holds the distinction of being the oldest bat in existence. In addition to this, he is the smallest mammal currently alive. Remarkably, this bat achieved such an impressive age in the wild. His age came to light after he was captured for tagging in 2005, revealing that he was first tagged in 1964.
Generally, the size of mammals correlates with their life expectancy. Larger mammals tend to live longer, while smaller mammals have shorter lifespans. This relationship is referred to as the “longevity quotient.”
Bats, in general, defy this pattern with a surprisingly high longevity quotient. The Brandt’s myotis, however, has the highest of any mammal, with a value of 9.8. To put this into perspective, humans have a longevity quotient of 4.5, and the longest verified human lifespan is 122 years.
Experts suggest that the extended lifespan of Brandt’s myotis may be largely attributed to factors like food availability and their hibernation habits. These bats spend around nine months each year hibernating, and the lack of natural predators in their environment may also contribute to their longevity. Notably, Brandt’s bats in Siberia tend to live longer than those in Leningrad.
