In 2016, a group of scientist estimated the ages of a number of Greenland sharks using radiocarbon 14 dating. However whales have recently been put into 2nd place by sharks. The discovery of a single 122 year old human is the result of a sample size of hundreds of millions of individuals not just 45. When considering how old a bowhead whale may grow (it’s longest potential lifespan), we need to consider that a random sample of 45 adult humans has very little chance of registering any centenarians. The recent discovery (2007 and before) of harpoon heads more than a century old in harvested animals adds support to this research. The Bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus, has the longest lifespan of any known mammal He found 5 really old males with ages registering as, 91, 135, 159, 172, and 211 years. Out of a sample of 45 specimens, and using a method based on measuring the changes in levels of aspartic acid, an amino acid found in the lens of the eye (and other places). Research by Jeffrey Bada of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California suggests that Bowhead Whales may live to be more than 200 years old. Scientists have for some time known that some whales have potential lifespans as great as ours. Animal With The Longest Lifespan? Whales! However, recent data has suggested that human beings are not the oldest living mammals. The techniques vary with different species and have lesser or greater degrees of accuracy.

Biologists have a number of ways of aging animals. So age estimates of wild-caught or killed animals are usually considered to be below the maximum. Normally speaking we expect very few individuals in a natural population to reach their maximum age. The table at the end of this page is mostly composed of data from various zoos. Though centenarians are becoming less rare.įor other animals, the best estimates we have for this sort of measure of longevity is for animals born and bred in zoos – where they live a life free from predators and most diseases. For most of us the sort of lifespan we can expect – if everything works in our favor, such as good health – is between 80 and 90 years. The scientifically accepted record is 122 for a French Woman, Jeanne Louise Calment, who died in 1997. For a human being we can say that, at the moment, the limit is about 115 years – though very few of us actually last that long. Variation is one of the rules that govern all life. Just as some people are bigger, stronger or smarter than others – so some live longer.

Potential Lifespans Of Different Animals (Mammals)įor humans, as in all animals, this is a variable depending on the individual.

Why Do Some Animals Live Longer Than Others?.Reproductive rate in an imaginary Opossum.Animal With The Longest Lifespan? Whales!.

Animal age list wiki