Some Whales Live Much Longer Than Thought — If Humans Leave Them Alone

Fewer than 30 years ago, it was believed that humans were the mammals who lived the longest on Earth. Now we know that, as far as making it past age 100, whales can blow us out of the water. And new research shows that more species of cetaceans can live beyond a 100 years than we thought.

A team of biologists studied decades of photo records of female southern right whales and North Atlantic right whales. They found that the same whales were spotted over and over as years went by. This allowed them to form timelines of the whales’ lives.

The team formed "survivorship curves" with these photos, study co-authors Greg Breed and Peter Corkeron told The Conversation. They did so by measuring how long it took whales to vanish from the photo records as they aged. The curves then allowed the team to guess the whales' max potential lifespans. 

They placed the lifespan of southern right whales at more than 100 years. Ten percent of them may be able to live past 130. A select few can even live past 150, they estimate. Because the two species are so alike, North Atlantic right whales would likely have a parallel lifespan, the team surmised. And yet, in the case of the critically endangered North Atlantic species, most don’t live past 50. For that, humans are to blame. 

“We attribute the stark difference in longevity in North Atlantic right whales to human-caused mortality, mostly from entanglements in fishing gear and ship strikes,” Breed and Corkeron said. They believe that further research may show that other large whales may have similarly long lifespans. That is, if uninterrupted by human intervention or climate change.  

Reflect: What changes could you make in your own life to help protect animals and their environments?