The African elephant is the largest living land animal , with a shoulder height of up to 11 feet and weighing an incredible six tonnes. Currently, an elephant living in the wild can live up to 70 years old, but they are vulnerable to poaching and habitat loss, leaving them at risk of being endangered.
Galapagos Tortoises are the world's largest tortoises, with some specimens exceeding five feet in length and reaching pounds. Giant tortoises are the longest-lived of all vertebrates, averaging over years - but they can live for a lot longer. A giant tortoise called Tommy, who resides in Zimbabwe, is believed to be between and years old.
This would make him the world's oldest living land animal, but there are no records to prove his age so the Guinness Book of World Recordsawards that distinction to an year-old tortoise in the Seychelles Islands named Jonathan. Fish aren't known for their long lifespans, but Japanese Koi Fish can live up to 40 years or longer if they are kept in the right conditions. Koi fish are descended from the common carp and modern Japanese koi are believed to date back to early 19th-century Japan where wild, colorful carp were caught and bred by rice farmers.
Bowhead whales, found in the Arctic, are believed to be among the longest-lived animals on earth. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the analysis of eye tissue and stone harpoon tips found in their blubber, bowhead whales can live for more than years.
The Greenland shark has the longest known life span of all vertebrates, estimated to be between and years. Found in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, the species can reach an astonishing 21 feet in length and mostly eats fish, but has been spotted hunting seals. In the wild, gorillas live for 30 or 40 years and in some cases can reach There are two species of gorilla—the eastern and western. Each of these is divided into two subspecies: the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla, and the western lowland gorilla and the cross river gorilla.
The life of humans on the planet can be considered short if we compare it with the lifespans that some animals have. While humans have an average life expectancy of 72 years according to the World Health Organization WHO , there are some creatures on the planet who are immortal and some can live up to thousands of years.
Scientists are trying to find out why some animals live so long, trying to unravel their mysteries and hope to be able to use this knowledge to extend the human lifespan. Here is a list of some of the longest living animals:.
The jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii has no brain and heart and is considered the only immortal creature on Earth ; it lives in tropical waters. As scientists have proved, such jellyfish do not die of old age, living up to a certain age, they begin to get younger and return to their original stage.
And from the stage of a young individual, she again begins to develop. Fortunately, there is no limit to the number of times they can do this! Thus, a creature can live an infinite number of cycles. Such jellyfish die, most often, due to predators or diseases.
Sponges have this incredible longevity thanks to their slow growth and generally cold water environment.
The Antarctic sponge holds the record for the longevity of its kind. The creature lives in arctic cold waters. Every year the sponge grows by 0. By reducing the metabolic process, the Antarctic sponge can live upto 5, to 15, years. Next on the list is Red Sea Urchin, a sea creature, which is native to the Pacific Ocean, mostly found along the west coast of North America.
These creatures live in shallow areas, mostly near rocky ones where low tides reach 90m. They can also be seen crawling along the ocean floor with the help of their spines.
In addition to its size and spines, the giant red sea urchin stands out as one of the longest-living animals, as it can reach up to years. Koi carps are small ornamental domesticated fish. The oldest fish of the koi carp species died at the age of years in Japan in , on average, these fish live years. The homeland of this subspecies of common carp is China, but this fish gained more popularity in Japan, where they are intensively grown. The Japanese gave the name Hanako to one well-known centenarian.
At first, koi carps were eaten, later they began to be kept at home as ornamental fish. Giant Galapagos tortoises are endemic to the famous Galapagos Islands archipelago and have always been considered one of the longest living creatures on Earth and rightfully so, as they are the vertebrates with the longest lifespan, averaging years.
In , a male tortoise named Adwaita died at the age of at Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata. He lived on a diet of wheat bran, carrots, lettuce, soaked gram chickpea , bread, grass and salt. It is said that this male tortoise weighing upto kg of Algebra species was gifted to Lord Clive, the founder of the British Empire in India. The average lifespan of these tortoises is upto years. Ocean Quahogs are an edible clam with an impressive lifespan.
Many will live to see their th birthday and the oldest one on record was years old when it was caught off the coast of Iceland in Scientists were able to determine the age by counting growth rings on the shell, similar to how we age trees. They can also find out other information too. How the shells form over time tells scientists how the oceans have changed throughout the years — they are a living creature and a picture of life in a changing world!
Can you imagine being immortal? Reaching old age and then instead of dying, going back and starting again as a baby? To us, this is the stuff of dreams. For the immortal jellyfish, it is real life. These amazing animals start their life as larvae, known as planula, swirling around in the ocean. They then settle on the seafloor and become static polyps before transforming into swimming medusa. So far, so normal. But, if at any stage immortal jellyfish experience injury or stress from changes in their environment, they can go backwards to the polyp stage and start again.
And they can do this over and over if they get the chance. Read More about jellyfish in our Animal A-Z. Facebook Twitter Instagram. Here we list ten animals that would have the longest lifespans living under ideal circumstances. Macaw Recognisable by their brightly covered feathers, macaws are members of the parrot family.
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