LIFE SPAN OF ANIMALS

THE LIFE SPAN OF ANIMALS 

Signs of senility, or extreme old age, are seldom seen in the wild. Animals living under natural conditions rarely approach their maximum possible age because of very high death rates due to infant mortality, diseases, predators, bad weather, accidents, or competition for food and shelter. For this reason, most of the reliable information about the length of the life span comes from zoos, where accurate records are kept and animals live under conditions almost ideally suited to prolong life. A mouse whose life is measured in months in the wild can survive years of captivity.

Large animals tend to live longer than their smaller relatives -- but there are many exceptions. For example, man is longer-lived than any other mammal. After him, in age, comes the elephant, hippopotamus, horse, rhinoceros, the bears, the big cats and many others which are larger in size. In general, birds live longer than mammals, and certain reptiles the longest of all. A giant tortoise is known to have lived 152 years on the island of Mauritius and then was killed accidentally or it might have lived a century longer. Even our common box turtle rather frequently reaches the 50-year mark. It is an interesting sidelight that there seems to have been no change in the life span of dogs, cats, horses and cows under thousands of years of domestication by man.

The following examples of extreme old age have been chosen from the reliable records of zoos and aquariums all over the world.

MAMMALS         YEARS

Elephant                      69

Horse                           50

Hippopotamus             49

Chimpanzee                 40

Grizzly Bear                 32

Bison                           30

Lion                             30

Tiger                            25

Elk                               22

Mountain Lion             20

Beaver                          19

Wolf                             16

Squirrel                        16

Chipmunk                    12

Cottontail                     10

House Mouse               4

BIRDS                         YEARS

Turkey Buzzard           118

Swan                            102

Parrot                           80

Great Horned Owl       68

Eagle                            55

English Sparrow          23

Canary                         22

Humming Bird             8

REPTILES                 YEARS

Giant Tortoise              152

Box Turtle                   123

Alligator                       68

Snapping Turtle            57

Cobra                          28

Cottonmouth               21

AMPHIBIANS            YEARS

Giant Salamander          55

Toad                            36

Bullfrog                        30

Mud Puppy                  23

Green Frog                   10

Newt                            7

FISH                            YEARS

Catfish                          60

Eel                                55

Carp                             47

Mosquito fish                2

INSECTS                                YEARS

Cicada                          17

Ant (queen)                   16