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Henry the world ’s oldest known crocodile is celebrating his 124thbirthday at a conservation center in South Africa today ( Dec. 16 ) .
The Nile crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus ) has populate at the Crocworld Conservation Centre in Scottburgh , South Africa since 1985 . He was earlier capture in the Okavango Delta in Botswana in 1903 .
Henry (not pictured) is a Nile crocodile who was caught in Botswana in 1903.
Henry , now a vigorous older resident at the Crocworld Conservation Center , is said to havefathered over 10,000 offspringwith numerous collaborator since he arrived there almost 40 years ago .
While his accurate birthday is nameless , Crocworld representativesestimate he was birth around 1900and keep his birthday on Dec. 16 each year .
" He ’s clearly old,“Steven Austad , a life scientist study brute ageing at the University of Alabama , order Live Science . " Whether he ’s 100 or 130 , we do n’t really know . An geezerhood of 124 is not inconceivable for a crocodile . "
Reptiles are acknowledge for their impressive seniority . Usually , a good formula of pollex for an creature ’s lifetime is to look at their sizing — low animals typically subsist short life because they have higher metabolisms , meaning that they burn more energy and age more rapidly as a result .
But even compare with other creature of roughly the same size , reptiles incline to be much longer - live . Austad said that being cold - blooded appropriate them to husband energy by bank on extraneous heating reference to regulate their soundbox temperature .
" A crocodile that was the same size as a someone would only need to corrode about 4 % as much as a mammal like us , " he say .
crocodile , like some other reptile species , continue growing with age . Henry weigh 1,540 pound ( 700 kg ) and measures 16.4 foot ( 5 m ) , which is on the magnanimous final stage for his kind . Their huge sizing keeps them safe from likely marauder in their old age .
associate : Scientists to read Cassius the gargantuan crocodile ’s finger cymbals to find out on the nose how old he was when he pass
Henry ’s liveliness in captivity has also belike help him touch such an old eld , observe him well fed and dependable from accidents and disease .
" fauna that for whatever reason , pass off to know in a safe environment , incline to populate longer , " Austad said .
Reptiles , compared to many other vertebrates , also do not show signs of noticeable decline in physiological power as they age .
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Other biological trait may also conduce to Henry ’s length of service . theory posit thatproteins foundin the roue of Nile crocodiles may have antibacterial properties and help them fight off infection and disease . Similarly , some researchers claim that theirgut microbiomescould contribute to their robust immune system .
analyse the aging of crocodile like Henry can be challenging since researchers have to enamor them in their infancy , mark them , then follow them throughout their lives . Because of this , many theories around the secret to reptilian aging are questioning , like the role of their immune system and microbiome , Austad said . " [ Crocodiles ] last longer than the careers of the scientist studying them , " he said .
