The earth is billions of years old and even our favorite lake, Clear Lake, is more than 2 million years old. In comparison, humans and other animals live only a short time. It is surprising how short a time animals exist. The time an animal is alive is calculated in several ways. There is the life expectancy and life span. Life expectancy is based on how long an animal is expected to live from birth. For example, a human’s current life expectancy is about 80 years. However, the life span for human can extend to 100 years or more. The oldest human on record lived 129 years. However, there are species of animals that can live to 230 years or even longer, including a mussel that lived an estimated 507 years. There is also a Greenland shark that has lived 400 years. A tortoise recently died in an Australian zoo that was 176 years old.
A number of species of fish have lived more than 100 years. The Rougheye Rockfish has lived to 205 years and Lake Sturgeon has lived up to 150 years. The Orange Roughy, which is a common ocean fish, lives up to 100 years.
On the other side, many local wild animals live only a brief time. A blacktail deer has a life span of about 16 years but few live more than seven years. Studies done by the University of California scientists show that only 8 percent of fawns born in Lake and Mendocino counties live a year. Predation by coyotes, mountain lions and bears take massive toll on the young deer.
Disease also plays a major role in life expectancy of wildlife. For example, deer are browsers and feed on young green shoots. When they are feeding they often ingest sand and gravel that wears down their teeth. They end up with an abscess or jaw infection. The result is that they can no longer feed and they lose weight and become weak, which makes them perfect prey for a predator.
Clear Lake is known for its large bass population but what most fishermen don’t realize is that bass have a relatively short life. A bass can live to be 16 years old but very few make it that long and most die before they age 7. The current Clear Lake record bass of 17.52 pounds was caught in 1990. Biologists took scale samples and aged the fish. It was determined that the bass was approximately 14 years old and was nearing the end of its life.
Clear Lake also has thousands of catfish that have a life expectancy of up to 20 years. Crappie can live to 20 years but few make it past 10. The oldest recorded crappie was 15.
Animals such as mountain lions and coyotes have to chase down their prey to get a meal. Once they reach a certain age they no longer can run fast enough and they end up starving to death.
Most insects live short lives. A common housefly lives about 15 days and a mosquito can make it to 20 days. However, there is a type of termite that can live up to 50 years.
Many animals suffer from the same diseases as humans, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and from the same injuries. For example, when a deer breaks its leg it can’t be fitted with a cast. Thousands of deer and other animals are also killed by cars.
Unlike humans, which have access in most cases to the best medical care in the world, a wild animal can’t go to the doctor. Even the slightest infection can result in death. Starvation also takes a terrible toll on wild animals. If the food source isn’t there even the healthiest animal will die.
