10 of the Longest Living Animals on Planet Earth

Us humans are currently the most intelligent species in the world. Or at least that’s what we assume. Along with this assumption comes another that since we’re the smartest, we must also be one of the longest living species in the world.

Boy, are we wrong!

While an average human’s life span of about 60-80 years (depending on where you live) seems quite impressive when compared to animals like certain flies who’s lifespan extends to whole whopping five minutes, there are other instances where its the opposite. Some of them may even outlive you by a life and a half!

Here are 10 of the longest living animals on planet Earth.

1. Ocean Quahog

Clams! These inanimate sea creatures have been recorded to live about 200 to 400 years or more. One of the most famous ones, a quahog clam named Ming, died at the age of 507 years old. It was named so because it’s age tells us that it would have been alive sine the Ming dynasty. But what’s sad about it, is that Ming could have lived longer if it wasn’t for human error. Researchers dredged the bivalve up from Icelandic waters, killing and freezing Ming and others like it for climate research purposes.

2. Bowhead Whales

Although bowhead whales have been long suspected to have massive life spans, this was only confirmed recently when a killed bowhead whale was examined. The whale seemed to have harpoons on its body that were determined to have been there since the 1890s through amino acids. This told us that bowhead whales live from up to 177 to 245 years!

3. Tortoise

You’ve heard the phrase “slow and steady wins the race”, but realizing that tortoises can live well past a 100 years gives a whole new meaning to it. Several tortoises have even been recorded to have lived up to 200 or more years!