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<\/a><\/a>He\u2019s presumed to have been born in 1900 and was captured 3 years later by elephant hunter Sir Arthur Henry Neumann, which is how the croc got his name
\nHenry is presumed to have been born in the year 1900. His current age of 123 years makes him older than any human who has ever lived, with that record being held by Jeanne Calment, who passed away in 1997 having reached 122 years.<\/p>\n
But while he indeed has lived for almost a century and a quarter, this massive croc only got to enjoy freedom for 3 years. Having become notorious for praying on the locals, Henry was finally captured by an English elephant hunter, Sir Arthur Henry Neumann, who sentenced him to lifetime captivity. That is also how our croc got his name.<\/p>\n
And yet, even in captivity, he did more than fine. Being recognized as the world\u2019s oldest crocodile, Henry gets loads of care and attention. Additionally, in the years since his capture, he has had 6 partners and has fathered more than 10,000 children, making him responsible for a whole lot of crocodiles in this world.<\/p>\n Living in captivity with tons of attention, the crocodile had 6 partners and has fathered over 10,000 children<\/p>\n Still, while Henry may be the oldest living croc, and his massive size is truly impressive, he\u2019s not the biggest one out there. This title belongs to 3-years-younger Cassius, who, having been measured at 5.48 meters in 2011, has been added to the Guinness World Records book, successfully claiming that title.<\/p>\n The interesting thing here that applies to both Henry and Cassius, as well as every other member of their species, is that crocodiles don\u2019t seem to ever fully stop growing. Although after reaching 5 meters, their growth usually slows down to as little as 1 centimeter a year, their size often keeps increasing for as long as they\u2019re alive.<\/p>\n And yet, somehow, their ceaseless growth is still not the most mind-blowing fact about these ancient predators. Want to know what it is? Well, it\u2019s quite simple: crocodiles do not age.<\/p>\n Of course, these animals do grow and mature, but when it comes to biological aging, they simply don\u2019t do that. Crocodiles, as well as alligators and a few other animal species, exhibit what is known as negligible senescence, which makes them almost immortal (but just imagine what would happen if their growth never slowed down either, like in this story).<\/p>\n With that, the danger to their lives is mostly posed by only 3 things:<\/p>\n Despite being the oldest and a massive crocodile in general, Henry is not the biggest one around, with this title belonging to another crocodile named Cassius<\/p>\n And lastly, for the cherry on top, crocodiles are the closest living relatives to the dinosaurs that once roamed the earth. They first appeared roughly 235 million years ago, and due to achieving an equilibrium where their nearly perfected versatility and efficiency didn\u2019t require them to evolve any further, they remain mostly unchanged.<\/p>\n Ultimately, crocodiles are truly fascinating animals. They might be huge and scary reptiles that most of us would rather never meet face-to-face, but at the same time, their uniqueness is simply mesmerizing.<\/p>\n As for Henry, it\u2019s not every day you learn about someone still walking this earth who was born at the very start of the last century. Even knowing all these crocodile facts, it may be a little difficult to grasp just how long he\u2019s been alive. So, on December 16th, don\u2019t forget to wish him a happy birthday and wish him many more healthy years to come.<\/p>\n This article by Dominykas Zukas was first published by Bored Panda on 13 September 2024. Lead Image: Image credits: Channel 5 (YouTube).<\/i><\/p>\n Help to save wildlife by donating as little as $1 \u2013 It only takes a minute.<\/p>\n\n
What you can do<\/h2>\n
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