Very old animals live on Earth. Some live up to a record age for their species, others - up to hundreds or even thousands of years. Here they are - the main long-livers of our planet!
1. Parrot Charlie
Charlie is a macaw parrot born in 1899. Thus, in 2018 he turned 119 years old. Its owner is Peter Oram, who bought the bird in 1965 for his store. Oram later took Charlie home as the bird swore and sang anti-Nazi songs. According to some statements, the bird previously belonged to Winston Churchill, but there is no confirmation of this.
2. Sea sponge the size of a minivan
With a width of 3.7 meters and a length of 2.1 meters, this sea sponge is the largest on record. It was discovered at a depth of 2,100 meters between Hawaii and the Midway Islands. Researchers cannot pinpoint her exact age, but her extraordinary size means she could be thousands of years old.
Smaller sponges live up to 2300 years. Therefore, this sponge is at least the same, and maybe more.
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3. Omar George
In 2009, George was 140 years old and became the oldest lobster ever found. It was discovered off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada and sold to a restaurant in New York. There he sat in an aquarium as a talisman, and children were photographed with him.
Animal rights organization PETA has demanded that George be returned to the sea. The restaurant agreed and George was released into the Atlantic Ocean. The age of the animal was calculated based on its weight.
4. Nameless Greenland shark
Holds the title of the oldest vertebrate in the world. The shark is believed to have been born between 1501 and 1744, so it is probably between 274 and 517 years old as of 2018.
These sharks grow 1 cm per year, reach sexual maturity at 150 years old, and grow up to 5 meters in adulthood.
5. Alligator Mooja
The oldest Mississippi alligator lives in the Serbian zoo. He is believed to be at least 80 years old. He arrived at the Belgrade Zoo from Germany as an adult in 1937, two years before World War II.
Muja survived three bombings of the Serbian capital and the Balkan crisis of the 1990s. The first two bombings took place during World War II in 1941 and 1944. and killed all the animals in the zoo except Mooji.
6. Turtle Jonathan
Jonathan is believed to have hatched in 1832. If so, then in 2018 he will turn 186 years old. The turtle lives on Saint Helena. He was brought there in 1882, and there is even a photograph of Jonathan taken in 1902.
7. Elephant Lin Wang
An Asian elephant named Lin Wan is the oldest elephant according to the Guinness Book of Records. Lin's grandfather, as he is called, died at the Taiwan Zoo in February 2003 at the age of 86. On average, Asian elephants live up to 60 years in nature.
Grandpa Lin's life is well documented. The Japanese used it to transport supplies during World War II until it was captured by the Chinese in 1943. In 1954, he was brought to the Taiwan Zoo, where the elephant remained until death.
8. Brandt's nameless bat
This is the oldest bat from Siberia. She is 41 years old. The age of the nameless mouse became known when it was captured in 2005. A ring was found on it, attached in 1964.
9. Albatross Wisdom
The 66-year-old albatross Wizdom is the oldest wild bird in the world. It is a dusky albatross with an average lifespan of 50 years. The bird lays an egg every year and has given birth to 39 chicks in its life.
10. Orca Granny
The oldest killer whale in the world was probably born in 1911. If so, she is 107 years old as of 2018.