Are there any animals with a long life span?

[dunii_rgr]

I was just thinking, how many animal companions does an elf go through during his life time? Wouldn't an elf outlive more animal companions than he does humans?

Wouldn't an elven druid or ranger want an animal companion that doesn't get old so fast (fast compared to an elf)?

 

[Tsyr]

I believe some species of turtles can live in the 100+ area...

 

[Drakmar]

galapagas tortoise... I don't believe that they have worked out the exact life span..

but they are more like a pet rock than a pet animal

 

[Blood Jester]

Several species of birds live in the 40 -60 year range.

 

[green slime]

According to the Guiness Book of World Records, that honor belongs to a Madagascar radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) named Tui Malila. Presented to the Tongan royal family by Captain James Cook in the late 1700's, the tortoise was either 188 or 192 years old at its death in 1965.

The oldest present known living animal is "Harriet", who was kidnapped by Sir Charles Darwin, who landed in the Galapagos in 1835 and took Harriet and two other tortoises back to England for scientific studies. In 1842 John Wickham, one of Darwin's colleagues, brought Harriet to Australia aboard a whaling ship and the land down under has been her home ever since. Harriet was around 5 years old at her time of capture.

There are some zoos out there, that claim they have or have had tortoises that are older than Harriet. But they don't have records to prove the claims.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

A chimp can live 33+ years ... look at how far we've gone
A queen termite can live 33+ years, and a queen ant can live 29+ years.
An elephant can live 67+ years, often longer than people in Third World countries.
A macaw can beat 80 years, and reptiles have been known to live a long time.

 

[Xeriar]

Some parrots can even live over a century.

Tortoises have no 'self destruct' gene, allowing them to live nearly 200 years.

Very simple animals can live a very long time, but that probably doesn't count for much. 800 years as a sponge is well, not very rivetting.

It's certainly within the realm of reason to double all animal lifespans in a fantasy world (though you should do this for humans and other short-lived races too).

I think within the next 20 or 30 years some rich prick is going to alter some of those death genes in their child and all hell will break lose.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

Actually, this brings up a good question... My PC is a half elf sorcerer who has a familiar (a bat). Since a familiar is like part of you and not like a regular animal, it should live much longer than a typical animal right?

 

[jonesy]

This also brings up the question: how long do fantastical fantasy creatures live and how do you determine it? Say I have a hippogriff or a celestial tiger. How long do they live?

 

[Xeoble]

Well, a familiar isn't an animal, its a magical creature, so it wouldn't have the same kind of lifespan as the mundane version.