The world’s oldest known orca in existence is a 105-year-old killer whale nick-named ‘Granny,’ but better known to scientists as ‘J2,’ and she was recently spotted swimming just off of the coast of Washington state in the Pacific Ocean.
Granny, the world's oldest-known ocra, is photographed swimming. Image Credit: Simon Pidcock
The 105-year age figure is somewhat of a miracle, considering that orca whales typically live between 60-90 years. The figure varies depending on whether the animal is taken care of professionally at facilities, or left to the wild to free-roam.
At Granny’s age, she would have been born before the infamous event of the Titanic sinking into the ocean. The fact that the whale is still swimming today shows that she must be healthier than a mule, and you can bet she’s seen a lot of the ocean blue on her lifetime.
"Granny has been swimming pretty much non-stop for over 100 years,” Simon Pidcock, from Ocean EcoVentures Whale Watching says. "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 a 100 times."
On the other hand, it is worth noting that the age is an estimated one, as it’s nearly impossible to know for absolute sure just how old and animal that pops up in the wild may be. The age estimate is said to have up to a 12-year margin of error, but that hasn’t stripped Granny of her title.
The orca, when spotted, seemed to be very energetic and in ‘high spirits,’ which suggests that the aging process isn’t slowing the whale down any. She was seen swimming with her pod in a happy sort of way.
Even if the age were 12 years too old, Granny would still be 93, which still tops the 60-90-year life expectancy of an orca. With no signs of slowing down, this would indicate that Granny could continue to stack on a few more years.
Happy swimming, Granny!
Source: The Telegraph, DailyMail