194 Years Old and Still Here: 10 of the Oldest Animals Alive Today

Sharks don’t come with birth certificates, so in 2016 scientists looked into their eyes. The core of the eye lens forms before birth and doesn’t change afterward. Dating it with radiocarbon in 28 Greenland sharks revealed a life span of at least 272 years, and the largest female, 502 centimeters long, came out at about 392, give or take 120.

These sharks grow about 1 centimeter a year and reach maturity at around 150, and scientists now call them the longest-living vertebrates known on Earth. Even at the low end of that estimate, the largest shark in the study was born before the United States existed.

Wisdom is a Laysan albatross on Midway Atoll in the Pacific, and biologists first banded her in 1956, after she laid an egg. These seabirds don’t breed before age 5, so she is at least 75 now, the oldest known wild bird in the world.

Over the decades, she has laid an estimated 50 to 60 eggs and raised as many as 30 chicks that fledged. In November 2025, she touched down on Midway again, and her mate arrived a few days later. In January 2026, refuge staff reported that she was still visiting the atoll.

In 1942, the director of the Nova Scotia museum bought Gus for five dollars. He was born in Florida, and because he was adult size by 1952, he likely hatched sometime between 1920 and 1925. The museum now counts him as 104.

In 2007, an expert from the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative said that Gus is “the oldest documented living gopher tortoise in North America and, most likely, the world.” His favorite foods are romaine lettuce, clover, dandelions, bananas and berries. The best time to see him is his daily walk at 3 p.m., but this fall, he is resting away from public view for several weeks.

Jonathan was brought to the island of St Helena in 1882, “fully mature” and therefore at least 50 years old. Guinness World Records puts his birth at around 1832, which makes him at least 194 in 2026 and the oldest known living land animal. A photo taken between 1882 and 1886 shows him already full-grown on the lawn of Plantation House, the governor’s residence, where he still lives.

He is virtually blind and has lost his sense of smell, but his appetite remains keen. He knows it’s time to eat when he hears Joe Hollins, a veterinarian, call his name. This October, researchers found 287 genes with variants unique to Jonathan, including some linked to DNA repair.

Fatou arrived in what was then West Berlin in 1959, when she was believed to be about 2. Nobody knows her exact birth date, so the Berlin Zoo gave her a designated birthday, April 13.

This April, she celebrated her 69th birthday with a feast, munching on cherry tomatoes, beets, leeks and lettuce. There was no birthday cake, because sugar isn’t healthy for her. AP calls her the world’s oldest gorilla living in captivity. These days, she lives in an enclosure of her own and prefers to keep her distance from the zoo’s other gorillas.

Spoodles is a plum-headed parakeet from Charleston, South Carolina, and Guinness World Records verified Spoodles as the oldest living parrot, at 32 years and 86 days, as of March 28, 2026. The owner, Amanda Beth, got the bird as a gift from her mother back in 1997.

According to Guinness, Spoodles still chirps along with the beeping of the microwave and greets family members passing by with a cheerful “pretty bird!”

Methuselah arrived at the Steinhart Aquarium in November 1938, by steamboat, together with 231 other fish from Australia. In 2023, scientists took a fin sample less than half a centimeter long and estimated her age at about 92, though she could be as old as 101. That makes her the oldest living aquarium fish in the world.

Her caretaker, biologist Laura McMillan, told KQED: “She’ll be beautiful and great-natured and sit on my arm and do belly rubs if I’m giving her worms and figs.” One piece of food she doesn’t like, and Methuselah turns her back and swims off to the other corner for the rest of the day.

Bowhead whales live in Arctic waters with seasonal sea ice, and NOAA Fisheries says they may live to be over 200 years old. Scientists estimated their ages from the chemistry of the eye lens: in a 1999 study of 42 whales, four males were older than 100. Before the Greenland shark, the vertebrate record holder was a bowhead whale estimated to be 211 years old.

To live in the cold, bowheads have a 17- to 19-inch blubber layer, thicker than that of any other whale, and some have been reported surfacing through 2 feet of ice.

Gertie lives in Portland, Maine, with owner Frank Turek, and on November 7, 2025, Guinness World Records verified Gertie as the oldest living chicken, at 15 years and 100 days.

According to Guinness, Gertie beat the previous record holder by more than a year. For anyone who keeps a backyard flock, that is a number worth reading twice.

Herbie Dunham is a Lionhead rabbit from Dorking, England, and as of August 20, 2026, Guinness World Records lists Herbie as the oldest living rabbit, at 16. Herbie has lived with the same owners, Richard and Melissa Dunham, since he was 8 weeks old.

For comparison, the RSPCA says a pet rabbit can typically live for 8 to 12 years in a safe home with a good diet and company. Herbie has had all three for twice that long.