The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-20
AGES OF ANIMALS.
The whale Supposed 10 Live to BE
Five Hundred Years Old.

rive hunOrcu ears Olu
From the Philadelphia Times.
1t was the day after the zoo mans birth
day.
The Parrots said something, the zoo
man sprang up and walked down TO the
other end of the corridor. When he was
out of hearing of the birds he stopped and
locked timidly around.
THAT is an ungrateful parrot," he said.
Yesterday she heard the visitors repeat
ing a hundred times the query How old
are YOU? and in initiating them Miss
Polly got her words badly mixed up and
row she is constantly exclaiming: How
old you are! How old you are" It's well
for her that she Is the property of Father
Pitt l know certain Old maids in this
Town THAI would make short work of
Polly If she should dare to address them
in that manner. ~
Just the same, we are all growing old,''
continued the zoo man, philosorh.cally re-
signing himself 10 the jibes that were in
nocently thrust at him by the parrot.
"1ha study of the length of the lives OF
animals is more interesting. There are
Methuselahs am ng beasts. too, but they
are few, for the majority of dumb brutes
die before the age of twenty-five years. A
quarter of a century generally puts a
period to cows exis fence and leaves
big interrogation point after the horse.
Two score years closes the life drama
OF the deer, the rhinoceros, the wolf and
other well known animals of the woods
and the jungle. In fifteen years the cur
tain is rung down on the cat and fox. A
pig S chances are good Tor nsarly tweaty
years II he escapes the butcher, but the
sheep who is not converted into early
mutton scarcely survives ten years. SPUR
rolls and hbitg lurkV If thew live
celebrate their seventh birthday anniver-
sary
These figures in some cases are based
on observations made on the age of wild
animals In captivity, but the estimates are
as close to the facts as 1t will ever be pos
sble to make them.
THE lion ought to reach mans age of
three score and ten years.
Among the four-legged centenarians the
best known to US is the tortoise, or land
turtle These armored knight Grants
have been known to live to an age of al
most a century here In Western Pennsyl-
vanla. When one is found in the country
1t is a common custom among the boys to
cut their initials and date in the reptiles
shell Recently tortoise was found near
Pittsburg with 1888 inscribed on its
back.
Eagles and ravens likewise are noted
for their longevity. Some say that 100
years Is not TOO great for the average.
Swans, some persons maintain, cling to life
for 300 years.
1.-THE last time / ordered a half of roast
duck l was served with something tough
that at once led me to believe that I had
encountered one of these superannuated
swans
AFTER the swan the medal is awarded
TO the elephant. He lives sometimes to be
400 years old, they say. Just imagine one
of the big beasts still alive that probably
carried Francis I, Henry VIII and Charles
V around when those mouarchs were boy
princes! i've never heard of any. Surely
some circus man is neglecting his oppor-
tunity.
Finally the naturalsts have given the
palm to the whale" continued the speak,
er. Some of the learned gentlemen esti-
mate the length of the life of the monarch
of the deep at 500 years and upward"