Henry, the world’s oldest known crocodile, turns 124th birthday at a conservation center in South Africa today (December 16).
The Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) has lived at the Crocworld Conservation Center in Scottburgh, South Africa since 1985. It was first captured in the Okavango Delta in Botswana in 1903.
Henry, now a vigorous senior resident of the Crocworld Conservation Center, is said to have fathered more than 10,000 descendants with many partners since arriving there almost 40 years ago.
Although his exact birthday is unknown, Crocworld representatives he is estimated to have been born around 1900 and celebrate his birthday on December 16 each year.
“He’s clearly old.” Steven Austada biologist studying animal aging at the University of Alabama, told Live Science. “Whether it is 100 or 130 years old, we don’t really know. An age of 124 years is not inconceivable for a crocodile.”
Reptiles are known for their impressive longevity. Usually, a good rule of thumb for an animal’s lifespan is to look at its size: smaller animals generally live shorter lives because they have a higher metabolism, which means they burn more energy. energy and age more quickly.
But even compared to other animals of roughly equal size, reptiles tend to live much longer. Austad said being cold-blooded allows them to conserve energy by relying on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature.
“A crocodile the same size as a person would only need to eat about 4% of what a mammal like us would,” he said.
Crocodiles, like some other reptile species, continue to grow with age. Henry weighs 1,540 pounds (700 kilograms) and is 16.4 feet (5 meters) tall, which is the tallest for his species. Their enormous size protects them from potential predators in their old age.
Henry’s life in captivity probably also helped him reach such an old age, keeping him well-fed and safe from accidents and illness.
“Animals that, for whatever reason, live in a safe environment tend to live longer,” Austad said.
Reptiles, compared to many other vertebrates, also do not show signs of a noticeable decline in their physiological capabilities as they age.
Other biological traits may also contribute to Henry’s longevity. Theories postulate that proteins found in the blood of Nile crocodiles may have antibacterial properties and help them fight infections and diseases. Likewise, some researchers claim that their gut microbiomes could contribute to their robust immune systems.
Studying the aging of crocodiles like Henry can be challenging since researchers must catch them at a young age, mark them, then follow them throughout their lives. For this reason, many theories about the secrets of reptilian aging are speculative, such as the role of their immune system and microbiome, Austad said. “(Crocodiles) live longer than the careers of the scientists who study them,” he said.