Trees are amazing....

When I visited Gettysburg I specifically asked several Park Rangers where the 'confirmed' witness trees were. They said they were seldom asked that question, that they weren't sure about all of them BUT did know some of the more famous trees. Should you be wondering what a witness tree is (I doubt it, easy to figure out).... they are trees that were on the battlefield during the battle. There are many.

Then there is this tree: An olive tree supposedly in the Garden of Gethsemane during the life of Jesus. They are 'confident' it was there then. Now that's amazing... but the champ? Nope.

The Redwoods in Calif. Not all of them, of course, but some estimated to be 3,000 years old. If your jaw didn't drop then you have a mental problem. Growing, for 500 years, before the Pyramids in Egypt were begun. So there's the champ, right? Ummm, no, actually no.

The Bristlecone Pines once again in Calif. 5,000 years old meaning.... some 2,500 years older than the Pyramids of Egypt. Trees that saw Mammoths, Saber Toothed Tigers, roaming the land.

So have we arrived at a champion? Well, maybe not. If you count 'cloning' it's possible that Pando, (A grove of Quaken Aspens in Utah), could be 80,000 years old.

Well what about animal life, you ask. That's complex... it's agreed that no animal is immortal... kind of... they don't actually know. The record holder would be a glass sponge who is estimated to have a lifespan of 15,000 years. Now think about that.... a sponge being 'born' today could, it's just possible, live to see Detroit win the Super Bowl. - JamesJM