Oldest Animals
Greenland sharks are now the longestliving vertebrates known on Earth.The discovery places their lifespan far ahead of the oldest elephant in captivity, Lin Wang, who died aged 86 and the official record for humans, held by Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment (122 years and 164 days). Researchers – led by Julius Nielsen, a marine biologist from the University of Copenhagen – found that the sharks grow just one centimetre a year, and reach sexual maturity at about the age of 150. Radiocarbon dating showed that one female was about 400 years old.The former vertebrate record-holder was a bowhead whale estimated to be 211 years old but if invertebrates are brought into the longevity competition, a 507-year-old Icelandic clam called Ming holds the title of most aged animal.
Greenland sharks, one of the world’s largest carnivores, can grow up to 24ft (7.3m) and are found, swimming no more than 1.7mph (2.7km/h), throughout the cold waters of the North Atlantic at depths of around 1,800ft (550m). With this leisurely pace of life and sluggish growth rate, they were thought to live for a long time. While the ages of many fish can be determined by counting the growth layers of calcium carbonate ‘stones’ found in their ears – in a manner somewhat similar to counting tree rings – sharks do not have such earstones. What’s more, Greenland sharks lack other calcium-rich tissues suitable for this type of analysis. Until now, determining their ages had been impossible, but the researchers found a way.
“The Greenland shark’s eye lens is composed of a specialised material – and it contains proteins that are metabolically inert,” explained Mr Neilsen. “This means that after the proteins have been synthesised in the body, they are not renewed any more, so we can isolate the tissue that formed when the shark was a pup, and do radiocarbon dating.”The team looked at 28 sharks, collected as by-catch during scientific surveys between 2010 and 2013. Using this technique, they established that the largest shark – a 16ft-long female – was between 272 and 512 years old (born between 1504 and 1744), but most likely somewhere in the middle, so about 400 years old (born c. 1616). “Even with the lowest part of this uncertainty, 272 years, even if that is the maximum age, it should still be considered the longest-living vertebrate,” said Mr Nielsen. Conversely, if her age is at the upper end of the scale, she may have out-lived Ming the clam. Science, Guardian online, 11 Aug; BBC News, Times, 12 Aug 2016.
• In 2006, as part of a study into climate change, scientists from the Bangor University School of Ocean Sciences dredged up about 200 ocean quahogs, a type of deep-sea clam, from the Atlantic sea floor off the coast of Iceland.Tests were conducted on the shells to determine their age. As the shells grow at different rates at different times of the year, distinct layers can be counted like tree rings. One 3.5in (9cm) quahog turned was initially thought to be 405 years old and was promptly dubbed ‘Ming’, after the Chinese dynasty in power when it was born.This was 32 years older than the previous oldest recorded creature, another ocean quahog, whose shell is now in a German museum. Unfortunately, by the time its age had been established, Ming was dead – its flesh had been thrown away and only its shell remained. Of course, it is not known how much longer Ming might have lived had it been left in place on the ocean floor.
In 2013, another assessment of Ming’s age was carried out counting bands that were measured on the sectioned surface of the outer shell margin rather than the hinge; and the result confirmed by comparing the banding patterns with those on other clams that were alive at the same time.This determined Ming was 507 years old when caught – 134 years older than the German specimen.The revised age estimate was also supported by carbon-14 dating. “We got it wrong the first time and maybe we were a bit hasty publishing our findings back then,” said Paul Butler, an ocean scientist from Bangor University. “But we are absolutely certain that we’ve got the right age now.” Sunday Times, 28 Oct; D.Mail, 29 Oct 2007; Independent, 16 Nov 2013.
• The oldest cat in the world today might be 31-year-old Nutmeg, who lives with Liz and Ian Finlay in Blaydon,Tyne and Wear. The couple regularly feed Nutmeg treats including tuna, cream and hot roast chicken, and the old chap has his own room. Nutmeg became the Finlays’ pet in 1990. Spice, their other cat, kept bringing home a stray friend, and the childless couple decided to adopt the tabby. A vet judged him then to be five years old. “Nutmeg is like a lovable old grandpa,” said Mrs Finlay. “He is very gentle. He has changed as he has got older, just like humans do. He is grumpier now and his meow is more like a growl.” D.Express, 29 June 2016.
• According to Guinness World Records, a Siamese cat called Scooter celebrated his 30th birthday in Mansfield,Texas, on 26 March 2016, making him officially the world’s oldest living cat. “He likes to see new places and he likes people,” said his owner, Gail Floyd. He grew accustomed to accompanying her, and travelled to 45 of the 50 US states. Ms Floyd said that as a kitten, he liked to play in her hair and got used to riding on her shoulder, going with her wherever she went. He would wake her up every morning at 6am, “talking” and jumping around, and was always waiting by the door when she arrived home from work. He enjoyed getting blow-dried after a bath and his favourite food was chicken, which he was given every other day.
• The all-time Guinness champion is Creme Puff, a Texas cat that died on 6 August 2005 aged 38 years and three days. Scooter died sometime before 8 April, whereupon the title passed to tabby Corduroy, 27, from Sisters, Oregon (born 1 Aug 1989) – but should it really go to Nutmeg? Or maybe to 30-year-old Henry, a ginger tom, living with Sally Brown in Norwich? Mrs Brown, 48, a veterinary nurse, got Henry as an eight or nine-week-old kitten from a rescue centre in March 1986. She feeds him on a Swedish cat food called Husse made from natural chemical-free ingredients. He also has treats of chicken and fish several times a week. Mrs Brown has 15 cats, of which several others have reached a ripe old age: 24, 19 and 18. “Henry’s sight is starting to fail now and he’s had a few teeth out, but in all that time he’s never had any illnesses,” she said. USA Today, 16 Aug 2015; [CNN] 10 May; (Portsmouth) News, 12 May; Sunday Post, 18 May; D.Mail, 31 May 2016.
• Three other aged moggies should get a mention. In February 2015 came news of a farm cat called Missan aged 29, due to turn 30 “this spring”. In the absence of a death notice, we presume Missan still walks among us. Owner Åsa Wickberg, from Karlskoga, southern Sweden, found her as an abandoned kitten in 1985, and the family dog adopted her as one of her own. A tabby called Tammy, living with Anna Gough in Macclesfield, was born on 18 March 1990, making her 26. And 25-year-old Mummy Cat, living with Bran Parker in Hindlip, Worcestershire, was shot in the abdomen and the face last June, causing her to lose an eye. One of the pellets was so close to her brain that a vet was obliged to put her down. The Local (Sweden), 22 Feb 2015; Sun, 14 April; D.Mail, 7 June 2016.
• Britain’s oldest dog was mauled to death while out on a morning walk on 1 August. Jack, a 25-year-old Yorkshire terrier, was bitten in a sudden and savage attack by a black Lakeland terrier near his home on Teesside. Ray Bunn, 70, Jack’s owner, said he had just taken him out of the car and was putting his lead on when “the dog just came out of nowhere and grabbed Jack on his side.” Mr Bunn tried to fight the rogue dog off and put an end to the mauling. “I punched it, but it was about three minutes before it let go,” he said. Jack died on the way to the vet.
Claims have been made for Max, a 29-yearold mixed terrier from Louisiana, but his date of birth can’t be confirmed.The same goes for Bella, a Labrador cross from Derbyshire, whose owners believed she was 29, but because she was a rescue dog, her precise age couldn’t be determined.The oldest dog ever recorded was an Australian cattle dog named Bluey, who lived for 29 years and five months before being put to sleep on 14 November 1939. D.Telegraph, 17 Dec 2015 + 3 Aug 2016; D.Mail, 3 July, 17 Dec 2015 + 2 Aug 2016.
• A sheep called Dolly, living on the South Downs, turned 23 last year and was thought to be the world’s oldest. Sharon Moore was looking after her at Moore Racehorse Trust in Westmeston, East Sussex. Sheep usually live to about 10 or 12.The oldest known one died in 1989 aged 28. In 2012, the then oldest was killed falling off a cliff on the Isle of Lewis a month short of 26. Sun, 16 Mar 2015.
• An African penguin called Pat, thought to be the oldest such bird in Britain and the second oldest in Europe, died last December aged 37. She was put down by vets in Torquay, Devon, because of her arthritis. Pat hatched at Paignton Zoo in 1978 but moved to Living Coasts in 2003. She hatched nine chicks at the zoo, which has the largest colony of African penguins in the UK. <i> 9 Dec 2015.
• Thousands of well-wishers helped the world’s oldest captive-bred panda celebrate her 38th birthday on 10 August. Jia Jia has outlived the life expectancy of a zoo panda by eight years and has a healthy appetite. She eats 15lb (6.8kg) of bamboo and fruit a day in her enclosure at Ocean Park, Hong Kong. She has joint problems, high blood pressure and poor vision from cataracts. Metro, 11 Aug 2016.
• Poncho, believed to be the world’s oldest parrot, turned 90 last October.The greenwinged macaw, who starred in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective with Jim Carrey in 1994, celebrated with a walnut-stuffed cake. After she filmed 102 Dalmatians with Glenn Close in the UK in 2000, she was deemed too frail to fly back to the US, so she was passed to Rebecca Taylor, a pet shop owner in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, where she remains to this day – as far as we know. D.Mail, 5 Nov 2012, 14 Oct 2015; Sun, 14 Oct 2015.
