p. 15 | Age of Animals by Alonzo Rice

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Oct 27, 1909

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 42.

Age of Animals

By Alonzo Rice

(Farm Journal, February, 1909)

One of the Smithsonian scientists calls attention to the fact that the duration of the lives of the lower animals differs from that of men's lives in being far more uniform.

While human beings die at all ages between infancy and senility, among the lower animals, on the contrary, all individuals of the same species live to very nearly the same age, unless killed by violence.

A bear rarely exceeds twenty years; a dog lives twenty years; a fox, fourteen or sixteen; lions are long-lived — Pompey lived to the age of seventy. The average age of cats is fifteen years; a squirrel and hare, seven or eight years; rabbits live to be about seven. Elephants have been known to live to the great age of 400 years.

When Alexander the Great had conquered one Porus, king of India, he took a great elephant, which had fought very valiantly for the king, named him Ajax, dedicated him to the sun, and then let him go with this inscription: “Alexander, the son of Jupiter, hath dedicated Ajax to the sun.” Three hundred and fifty years after, this elephant was found with this inscription.

Pigs have been known to live to the age of thirty years; the rhinoceros, to twenty. A horse has been known to live to the age of sixty-two, but averages twenty-five or thirty; camels sometimes live to the age of 100; stags are long-lived; sheep seldom exceed the age of ten; cows live about fifteen years.

The dolphin and porpoise attain the age of thirty. Cuvier considers it probable that whales live 1,000 years. An eagle died at Vienna at the age of 104 years; ravens frequently reach the age of 100 years; swans live 300 years; a tortoise has been known to live 107 years.—Alonzo Rice.