艾莉森·盖伊 译/张燕

Feeling stressed out by the frantic pace of modern life？ Meet five ocean-going animals who have mastered the art of slow living—so slow， in fact， that they’re among the oldest creatures on earth. From raising helpful sons to evading predators with snot （yes， snot）， learn about the strategies these longevity champions use to stay alive.

5. “Granny” the Orca

Claim to fame： Oldest orca

Age： 104 years

Longevity secret： Family life

In killer whale society， mother really does know best. A matriarch， usually the oldest female， leads a family pod consisting of her sons， her daughters， and her daughter’s offspring. “Granny，” the leader of the J pod—an extended family of whales that roam the coastline from Alaska to California—may be the oldest matriarch of them all. Based on the age of her offspring， researchers estimate that Granny has been around for 104 years.

Part of Granny’s secret could be her species’ peaceful， family-focused life. Throughout their entire lives， male orcas remain so intensely bonded to their mothers that they swim only a body length away from her more than 40 percent of the time. These enormous but gentle momma’s boys help out around the pod by looking after their younger relatives， giving the matriarch more time and energy to feed， rest， and reproduce.

Blessed with helpful sons and the second-biggest brain of any marine mammal， female orcas like Granny may simply be healthier and happier than their counterparts in less-peaceful animal societies.

4. Bowhead Whale

Claim to fame： Oldest mammal

Age： Over 200 years

Longevity secret： Stay healthy

In 2007， Inupiat hunters in Alaska found an antique harpoon head lodged in the blubber of a recently killed bowhead whale. That particular brand of harpoon hadn’t been manufactured since 1885—indicating that the whale had survived a whaler’s attack in Victorian times and gone on to live for another 130 years.

Since then， dating of the amino acids in bowhead eyes has revealed that they can live to be over 200 years old， making them the longest-lived mammal by about a factor of two.

These whales not only attain great age， but they remain disease-free until much later in their lives than humans do. Curious as to how they manage this feat， researchers sequenced the bowhead genome and discovered changes in their DNA  related to cancer， aging， and cell repair. This suggests that these sprightly cetaceans have evolved special resistance to age-related disease and decline.

3. Orange Roughy

Claim to fame： Among the oldest marine fishes

Age： 157 years

Longevity secret： Avoid predators

The orange roughy， a reddish-orange fish that dwells 500 to 6，000 feet below the sea’s surface， takes its sweet time growing and maturing. They only start to reproduce between 20 and 40 years of age， but can live to be older than 150 years.

Before getting a rebrand to appeal to human customers， orange roughy used to be called “slimeheads” for an obvious reason： they exude mucus from channels on their heads and bodies. Gross as it sounds， these slimy organs actually detect tiny changes in water pressure， helping orange roughy excel at the art of predator avoidance.

Unfortunately， orange roughy aren’t able to avoid fishing nets.

Throughout most of their range， they’ve been severely overfished. Since they take so long to grow and reproduce， it may be decades before their populations can recover. The deep-sea trawling equipment that’s used to catch them also bulldozes corals and scoops up many non-target species， making this fishery doubly unsustainable.

Rather than eating orange roughy， it’s better to choose sustainable seafood and admire slimeheads where they belong： peacefully growing old a mile below the waves.

2. “Ming” the Ocean Quahog

Claim to fame： Oldest animal （verified）

Age： 507 years

Longevity secret： Stay young at heart

Pity poor Ming. Born sometime during the Ming Dynasty， this ocean quahog met its end when researchers were dredging the seabed in North Iceland. By counting its growth bands and dating the carbon in its shell， scientists determined that this clam settled onto the seafloor approximately 507 years ago.

Ming， and other long-lived clams like it， continue to grow but don’t appear to grow old—the bivalve equivalent of a 90-year-old human with the body and mind of a 20-year-old.

1. Antarctic Sponge

Claim to fame： Oldest animal （unverified）

Age： 15，000 years

Longevity secret： Take things slow

Snow-white and shaped like a beer barrel， one individual of the Antarctic sponge species Anoxycalyx joubini may be the oldest living animal yet discovered—by a long shot. Taking into account its size and the average growth rate of its species， one researcher calculated that this enormous specimen could be up to 15，000 years old.

Just how old is 15，000 years？ When this sponge was just a baby， wooly mammoths still roamed the world， humans had yet to colonize the Americas beyond northern Canada， and the basins that would become the Great Lakes were still almost entirely buried beneath a miles-thick ice sheet.

Even at half its estimated age， Anoxycalyx joubini would still be the oldest animal on earth， and among the oldest of all organisms， period. By contrast， the famous bristlecone pines in California live a measly 5，000 years.

疯狂的现代生活节奏令你压力山大？来认识一下五种掌握了慢生活艺术的海洋动物——它们的生活节奏如此之慢，令它们得以跻身最长寿的地球生物之列。从养育儿子来帮助自己，到靠鼻涕（是的，鼻涕！）躲避掠食者，来学学这些长寿冠军延续生命的策略吧。

5. 虎鲸“老奶奶”

成名原因：最长寿的虎鲸

年龄：104岁

长寿秘诀：家庭生活

在杀人鲸（虎鲸）的世界，妈妈最博学。女族长通常是年纪最大的雌鲸，带领着由儿子、女儿及女儿的后代组成的大家族。杀人鲸族群中的J家族足迹遍布自阿拉斯加至加利福尼亚海岸线，其头领“老奶奶”可能是年纪最大的族群首领。根据她后代们的年龄推算，研究人员认为她的年纪在104岁左右。

“老奶奶”的长寿秘诀可能部分源于这一种群以家庭为核心的平静生活方式。雄鲸一生中超过40%的时间都与母亲形影不离，就在与其母距离仅一个身位的范围内活动。这些体形巨大但性情温柔的“妈宝男”帮助照顾比他们年幼的亲人，让女族长有更多时间和精力进食、休息和繁殖。

依靠儿子们的帮助以及自身拥有的海洋哺乳动物中第二大的大脑，像“老奶奶”这样的雌性虎鲸得以比不那么和平的动物社群中的那些同侪生活得更健康、更快乐。

4. 弓头鲸

成名原因：最长寿的哺乳动物

年龄：超过200岁

长寿秘诀：保持健康

2007年，阿拉斯加的因纽特猎手们在一头刚刚被猎杀的弓头鲸的鲸脂内发现了一枚古老的鱼叉头。……