TOP 5 longest living animals in the world

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, habitat destruction, or competition for food and shelter.

5. Galapagos Gian Tortoise

The largest living species of tortoise that can survive well past a hundred, with the oldest recorded at 152. The most famous Galapagos Tortoise was 'Lonesome George', a sub species who lived on the Islands, he was 100 years old and still classed as a young adult! He had become an ambassador of sorts for the islands off the coast of Ecuador whose unique flora and fauna helped inspire Charles Darwin’s theories on evolution.

4. Bowhead Whale

Bowhead whales have an average lifespan of 200 years. They can survive this long because they have a very low body temperature — and the lower an animal's body temperature, the longer it can live.

3. Greenland Shark

These sharks live farther north than any other shark species and some estimates put their lifespan at over 200 years. They also hold the world record for having the most toxic meat of any shark!

2. Koi Fish

Koi fish usually live for 25-30 years but there are reports of kois that have achieved ages of 100–200 years. One famous koi in Japan, named "Hanako", died in 1977 and a study of the growth rings of one of her scales reported that she was 226! This made her older than the United States of America!

1. Ocean Quahog

Some collected specimens have been calculated to be more than 400 years old. These animals show exceptional longevity with a highest reported age, for ‘Ming’ the clam, of 507 years. It was collected alive by an expedition in 2006 so it may have lived even longer if left in the wild.