Preserving old, wise animals essential for species survival Scientists Warn

According to the article published by The Guardian, scientists are emphasizing the importance of preserving older, more experienced animals for the survival of species. 

Scientists state that hunting older, more experienced individuals depletes critical knowledge essential for group survival.

Animals, like humans, grow wiser with age, as shown by increasing studies. For instance, the bigmouth buffalo fish can live up to 127 years, the Greenland shark up to 392 years, and some sponges can survive for over 10,000 years. Aging animals acquire deeper knowledge of their environment and often pass this wisdom to younger members of their groups.

However, these older animals are increasingly being killed off. A recent study published in "Science" warns that Earth's elderly animals are in decline, analyzing over 9,000 peer-reviewed papers. Few animals reach old age, and those that do are often targeted by humans due to their size or other features, such as large antlers, horns, or tusks.

Researchers caution that removing the largest and most experienced animals can have profound effects on group culture and social structures, advocating for a new concept called "longevity conservation."

Lead researcher Keller Kopf, an ecologist at Charles Darwin University in Australia, notes that much of the research on aging has concentrated on the negative health aspects. “That simplistic idea about old individuals not being important for populations, or for environments, is really not the full story,” he explains. As he studied different animal groups, he consistently encountered remarkable examples highlighting the value of older animals. “No matter where we looked, there were good examples,” he adds.

According to the paper, primates, whales, elephants, and pack-hunting animals all rely on older individuals who possess crucial cultural knowledge and help sustain social structures. For example, older female elephants have a “social memory” that helps them distinguish friends from foes and remain alert to potential dangers, such as lions. Similarly, postmenopausal orcas are the best at locating salmon foraging grounds.

The research highlights that removing older individuals can lead to increased volatility in populations, sometimes causing them to eventually collapse.

Older birds are better at providing food and care for their offspring, and deep-sea corals, which can live for thousands of years, offer important shelter for marine mammals. While older mammals may produce fewer offspring themselves, they play a significant role in supporting the production and care of younger generations. This is known as the “grandmother hypothesis,” which, though first studied in humans, has also been explored in elephants and orcas.

By Naila Huseynova