Longest-Living Mammals
Number one is the bowhead whale at 100–200+ years, followed by the blue whale at 80–90 years and the humpback whale at 50–90 years (estimates vary).
| # | Animal | Lifespan | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowhead Whale Mammal |
100–200+ years | estimated; the oldest individual studied was aged at about 211 years |
| 2 | Blue Whale Mammal |
80–90 years | estimated from earplug layers |
| 3 | Humpback Whale Mammal |
50–90 years (estimates vary) | estimates vary: at least 45–50 years is well supported, and NOAA gives 80–90 |
| 4 | African Elephant Mammal |
60–70 years | in the wild, for animals that escape poaching and drought |
| 5 | Sperm Whale Mammal |
60–70 years | estimated from tooth growth layers |
| 6 | Asian Elephant Mammal |
50–60 years | in the wild; a few individuals reach 70 or more |
| 7 | Bornean Orangutan Mammal |
50–60 years | in human care |
| 8 | Bottlenose Dolphin Mammal |
40–60 years | in the wild; females tend to outlive males |
| 9 | Chimpanzee Mammal |
50–60 years | in human care |
| 10 | Bactrian Camel Mammal |
up to 40–50 years | upper range under human care; many working animals live 20–40 years |
| 11 | Beluga Whale Mammal |
35–50 years (possibly up to 70–80) | in the wild; newer tooth-layer studies suggest some reach 70–80 years |
| 12 | Bonobo Mammal |
40–50 years | in human care; some have passed 50 |
| 13 | Hippopotamus Mammal |
35–50 years | in the wild |
| 14 | Narwhal Mammal |
30–50 years (possibly up to 90+) | in the wild; eye-lens dating suggests some individuals reach 90 years or more |
| 15 | Orca Mammal |
30–50 years (females up to 80–90) | wild averages: males about 30 years, females about 50; females can reach 80–90 |
| 16 | Western Gorilla Mammal |
40–50 years | in human care; a few have passed 60 |
| 17 | White Rhinoceros Mammal |
40–50 years | in human care |
| 18 | Black Rhinoceros Mammal |
35–45 years | in human care |
| 19 | Dromedary Camel Mammal |
about 40 years | typical maximum under human care; some individuals reach 50 |
| 20 | Harbor Seal Mammal |
30–40 years | in human care; approximate, with a record of about 47 years |
| 21 | Plains Zebra Mammal |
25–40 years | in human care |
| 22 | Walrus Mammal |
30–40 years | in the wild |
| 23 | West Indian Manatee Mammal |
30–40 years | potential in the wild; many die younger from boat strikes and cold stress |
| 24 | Grizzly Bear Mammal |
30–35 years | in human care; a few have passed 40 |
| 25 | Japanese Macaque Mammal |
25–32 years | in human care; approximate |
About this ranking
Among mammals, lifespan rises with body size, but there are striking exceptions. Bowhead whales can live for two centuries, while the mouse-sized naked mole-rat outlives animals a thousand times heavier. Bats and primates also live much longer than their size predicts.
How it is ranked: Mammals ranked by the upper end of the typical lifespan range, wild or captive, whichever is greater. The list covers the 214 animals in the AnimalStats database, not every species on Earth.
The top five in detail
1. Bowhead Whale — 100–200+ years
Bowhead whales can live more than 200 years, the longest lifespan of any mammal, and many individuals are thought to pass 100. Ages come from chemical changes in the eye lens, and the oldest whale studied was estimated at about 211 years. Such estimates carry wide margins of error.
2. Blue Whale — 80–90 years
Blue whales are estimated to live 80–90 years. Ages are worked out by counting the wax layers laid down in a whale's earplug, and the oldest individual measured this way was around 110 years old. Blue whales have never been kept in captivity.
3. Humpback Whale — 50–90 years (estimates vary)
Humpback whales live at least 45–50 years, and NOAA estimates a full lifespan of about 80–90 years. The true figure is uncertain, because whales are hard to age: the higher estimates come from counting earplug layers, and photo-identified individuals have been followed for more than 45 years.
4. African Elephant — 60–70 years
African elephants live 60–70 years in the wild. Their lifespan is limited partly by their teeth: an elephant has six sets of molars in its life, and when the last set wears down it can no longer chew properly. Zoo elephants have often had shorter lives than protected wild ones.
5. Sperm Whale — 60–70 years
Sperm whales live an estimated 60–70 years, based on growth layers counted in their teeth. Females reach maturity at around 9 years and males do not reach full size until about 50. They have never been kept in captivity, apart from brief attempts to rehabilitate stranded calves.