Why do some animal species have such long lifespans compared to that of humans?

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meltzerboy2

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I was just reading that the Greenland shark has an average lifespan of 272 years and can live up to about 500 years. Another sea creature, whose name escapes me, lives for at least 1000 years. Why is this? By comparison, why does mankind have such a relatively short lifespan? Not that I begrudge these animals. Well, maybe I’m just a little envious. Is it because of the Fall? I thought the Fall encompassed all creatures, not only human beings. Of course, if we are correct, we may receive something animals do not after having “shuffled off this mortal coil.”

Anyhow, what are your thoughts about this? Not sure how “casual” this conversation is; perhaps more philosophical. If so, moderators, please move to other sub-forum.
 
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This story always brightened my day, and might answer your question!

Life Explained by God​

When God created the world, he also created the dog, the monkey, and the cow. It’s a simple story, told through the eyes of the dog, the monkey, and the cow, and their conversations with God during creation.

God Created the Dog​

On the first day, God created the dog and said: “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.”

The dog said: “That’s a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten?”

So God agreed with the dog.

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On the second day, God created the monkey and said: “Entertain people, Do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.”

The monkey said: “Monkey tricks for twenty years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?”

And God agreed with the monkey.

On the third day, God created the cow and said: “You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves, and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.”

The cow said: “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I’ll give back the other forty?”

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said: “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you twenty years.” But man said: “Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?”

“Okay,” said God, “You asked for it.”

So that is why the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

And that’s how life is explained through God’s creation.
 
LOL What a great story! And, yes, it does answer my question.
 
I found this chart that shows two sea creatures with lifespans in the thousands: Giant Barrel Sponge (2300 years) and Black Coral (4309 years – I wonder why they threw in the nine?).

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Yes, these are the creatures I was referring to. You would think they’d become bored after a while.
 
Cells degrades as they replicate. Some animals replicate more or less than others. Those who replicate less have less degradation and live longer due to healthier cells.
 
Yes, I’m familiar with the biological reasons, more or less. I was just wondering, philosophically speaking, why some animals are granted such a long lifespan (others so short) compared to the average lifespan of humanity. I am also aware of the Fall, but I thought it applies to all creatures, not just humans.
 
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Maybe it’s because those are ones God particularly liked :man_shrugging:t2:
 
meltzerboy2 said:
Yes, these are the creatures I was referring to. You would think they’d become bored after a while.
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I would have thought so too, but a popular cartoon series suggests that one sponge’s life is anything but boring.

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If this was in the Philosophy category, I wouldn’t be able to post that.
 
Trying to be serious now, I cannot think of a reason, but it occurs to me that time is always relative. Among unstable elementary particles, the neutron lives the longest, about 10 minutes. That’s almost forever compared to every other unstable elementary particle (microseconds at most). So it might be said that our eighty-something years is almost forever, and the same could be said if we lived to be a thousand.
 
Do you mean based on our own perception of the passage of time? In other words, we perceive that our lives are long relative to all the life experiences we have. A dog perceives its life as long in the context of its experiences, and so on.

I will say, however, that as time marches on as we age, the perception of time seems to accelerate.
 
meltzerboy2 said:
Do you mean based on our own perception of the passage of time?
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Not perception, but expectation and it’s corollary, planning.

Imagine if humans had only ever lived 30 years and we ordered our lives around that timeframe. We would probably have a shorter and more efficient education, marry younger, enter the workforce younger, and have social structures to support younger families and workers. What other adaptations can we imagine? I think we would make the most of it, and would think our 30 years was just enough.
 
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