Nature & Environment

Killer whale 'Granny' is older than Titanic

By T.K. Randall
August 6, 2016 ·  19 comments

Scientists believe that Granny was born in 1911. Image Credit: Leigh Calvez Born one year before the sinking of the Titanic, this positively ancient seaborne mammal has been regarded as something of a celebrity ever since she was first identified back in 1971.

Her extreme old age is particularly surprising as orcas were only thought to live for 60-80 years.

"Granny has been swimming pretty much non-stop for over 100 years," said whale watching expert Simon Pidcock. "The Southern Residents (community of killer whales) on average travel about 72 miles in a 24-hour period day in, day out."

"This means in Granny's lifetime she has swam around the world the equivalent of 100 times."

Seemingly still in good health, the aged whale could go on to live for many more years to come.


Source: Telegraph | Comments (19)

Tags: Killer Whale, Granny