Animals That Live Longer Than Humans

In arctic and subarctic waters lives the animal with the longest mammalian lifespan known to science. Bowhead whales, according to NOAA, can reach up to 72 feet long and weigh in at 100 tons. But despite their size, like almost all baleen whales, they are gentle.

Bowheads, because they are slow swimmers and have a tendency to float after they are killed, were a prime target for whalers starting in the 1800s. From a pre-whaling population of over 50,000, they were driven to near extinction levels with just 3,000 individuals still surviving by the 1920s. Since the end of whaling, their numbers have recovered to an upper end of almost 20,000, although the genetically distinct population of the Okhotsk Sea has only a few hundred.

These whales live a long time. They easily cap a century of life, which has been seen by studying harpoon tips found in living specimens. More advanced methods of age testing, such as analyzing baleen and eye lens, show that bowhead whales can live for over two centuries. One specimen the Canadian Journal of Zoology reported on was 211 years old. It is believed that these whales have a gene that repairs damaged DNA – this is most likely the key to their geriatric success.

Slowly swimming at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean is a predator who could have been lurking around since before George Washington was president. The Greenland Shark, as described by Science, can live at least 272 years. If correct, this makes them the most geriatric vertebrate in the animal kingdom.

Greenland sharks are pretty different from your garden variety Great White. Data provided by LiveScience informs us that they reach up to 24 feet long and can weigh up to 2,645 pounds. They also are slow swimmers (less than 2 mph) and have poor eyesight, mainly due to a parasite that attached itself to its eye lens. It is thought that the cold environment of the arctic leads to a slower metabolism and a longer lifespan.

But wait! These are sharks. They are predators. How can you hunt with poor eyesight and slow speed? The answer is that Greenland sharks tend to be scavengers, eating corpses of animals that come their way, like polar bears and seals. Greenland sharks also make for some dubious eating. Wired reports that they are used in Iceland to produce hákarl, dubbed the "world's foulest food." Atlas Obscura says that it smells like urine and maybe tastes like blue cheese. The flesh of the shark is extremely poisonous because it accumulates tons of ammonia. So to rid the flesh of the poison the meat is allowed to rot and ferment in dirt or in the air for months.

Tuataras at first, second, and third glance appear like lizards. But they aren't. According to New Zealand's Department of Conservation, tuataras are an order of reptiles that is as distinct from a lizard as that of a snake from a turtle. The order Sphenodontia, which roamed the planet during the age of the dinosaurs, once was as diverse as 60 distinct species but today the sole representative is on New Zealand.

At about 3.3 pounds when grown, tuataras are not exactly komodo dragons, but they are the island nation's biggest reptiles. They are also one of the most endangered. Once they lived all through New Zealand, but poaching, introduced animals such as Polynesian rats, habitat destruction, and low diversity have driven these animals to live on only a few dozen of the smaller islands. According to the AAAS, the population is stable with perhaps as many as 100,000 living in the wild. But their limited range makes them very vulnerable.

Tuataras mate infrequently, about once every four years, which is the smallest mating interval for any reptile. But they do have longevity. These reptiles can produce offspring well into their sixth decade and easily live to over a century. One specimen successfully produced offspring at 111 years old. It is suspected that some individuals can live for 200 years.

Elephants are the world's largest land animals alive today. There are two species of elephants, the larger African and the smaller Asian, which in some cases has been semi-domesticated. Typically, an African elephant will live to about 70 years in the wild (per National Geographic) while their Asian cousins will live to about 60. Curiously, the American Wildlife Federation reported that, unlike other animals, elephants tend to live longer in the wild than in captivity.

So while the average lifespan of an elephant is shorter than that of a human, there are exceptions. This is particularly the case with Asian elephants, though it may be that since Asian elephants are often in closer contact with humans we just know more about them. According to the BBC, one Asian elephant named Dakshayani died in India at age 88 in 2019. In another instance, an Asian elephant named Lin Wang died in a Taiwanese zoo at age 86 in 2003. Lin Wang was not just remarkable for his longevity: During World War II, the elephant had also served as a work animal for the Japanese before being captured by the Chinese and serving the Allied cause.

The ocean quahog is a common clam. NOAA explains that these mollusks can be found in the Atlantic as far south as North Carolina and are regularly harvested commercially and recreationally. Quahogs begin life as larvae, formed from eggs that have been fertilized by sperm that jettisoned into the water. After about a month, they settle on the ocean floor where they develop. A quahog fully matures at about 20 years old. Like most clams, they are filter feeders, buried in the bottom of the seafloor where they suck in water and extract nutritious algae. Cod, sea stars, sculpins, rock crabs, and other sea creatures all prey on quahogs, but once they reach a large enough size, they generally escape being eaten by natural predators since their protective shells are quite strong. This simple life leads to longevity. The Christian Science Monitor reported that in 2006, scientists studying climate change pulled up a quahog from deep waters off Iceland. By analyzing lines on the shell, they concluded that the clam was an amazing 402 years old.

But the scientists were wrong. Further research pegged the clam as coming into the world in 1499, making it half a millennium old, plus. The clam was named Ming, since it had been born during the time of the Ming dynasty. Ming was given the title of oldest non-colonial animal in the world (creatures like corals are based on polyps that clone themselves).

Think about that the next time you order clam chowder.

The rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) is one of the longest living fish known to science. According to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, this species ranges through the northern Pacific from north of Japan to southern California. The fish earned its common name from the spiky projections about its eye area. The fish is typically found between 525 to 2,165 feet where it survives by eating shrimp. What is truly remarkable about the rougheye rockfish is its age. One specimen caught off Alaska was analyzed and found to be 205 years old. It is likely that since this is just a single specimen, there are, in fact, older individuals down on the seafloor.

The secret of their longevity is discussed by Scientific American. There seem to be multiple factors, such as size, the cold environment, and most importantly genetics. This species, along with other species of rockfish have genes that can repair damaged DNA. This is being studied by researchers in the hopes of better understanding aging in humans and how cancers may be fought. In the meantime, there is a call to protect these long-lived fish from overfishing and other pressures which threaten their existence. Even though these rockfish are long-lived, they are not genetically diverse, which means that sudden changes in the environment could be disastrous for them.

A ubiquitous feature of water ponds is the decorative fish called koi. Japanese koi (Cyprinus carpio) are, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, a species of carp. While carp had been domesticated by the Chinese at least by the 4th century CE, koi are carp unique to Japan. In the early 19th century, rice farmers bred colorful carp resulting in koi, which, like other domesticated animals, have been bred into diverse colors and types. As "Fabulous Fish" tells us, the most popular varieties of this fish are Kohaku (white with red patterns), sanke (white with black patterns), and showa (black with white and red patterns). These fish can grow quite large, up to 3 feet long, and weigh 25 pounds. 

Koi might also be geriatric champions. While most have a lifespan of 40 years (not bad for a fish), Nature World News reported that one specimen named Hanako that died in 1977 was analyzed and found to be almost 230 years old, based on an examination of rings on its scales. However, it should be noted that these claims are challenged, with Snopes pointing out that the method of aging the fish was dubious. Even National Geographic says Hanako's age may be a legend. So while the jury is still out on the lifespan of a koi, it is cool to think that your great-great-grandchildren may inherit one from your water garden.