What is a ‘lifespan’? In Scientific terms, this means how long (on average) an organism can live. Some members of a species may live longer or shorter than the average lifespan. There are many factors that account for an individual animal’s lifespan including: illness, injury, predators, habitat loss, living in the wild versus captivity.
In the video above, many different animal lifespans are explored (including where humans fall on the ‘list’ of lifespans). As you watch the video, consider:
-How long would you consider a ‘long’ lifespan to be (ex: 50 years? 100 years?)
-How many mammals have long lifespans? Reptiles? Insects? Fish?
-Humans fall towards the middle of the lifespan chart (averaging around 70 years). Do you think our lifespan has always been the same (in the past and in the future)?
-What can we learn from some of these ancient organisms? Why is it important to study them and protect them?
If you want to learn more about the oldest terrestrial animal, check out the video below to ‘meet’ Jonathon the Tortoise (190+ years old!):