<strong>Oldest living things on Earth: </strong>It's hard to pinpoint exact dates, but these 10 creatures and plants are among Earth's most tenacious living things. A Laysan albatross named Wisdom, pictured, was banded in 1956. She is the world's oldest confirmed wild bird.
Oldest living things on Earth: It's hard to pinpoint exact dates, but these 10 creatures and plants are among Earth's most tenacious living things. A Laysan albatross named Wisdom, pictured, was banded in 1956. She is the world's oldest confirmed wild bird.
Daniel W. Clark/USFWS
<strong>LAND ANIMAL -- about 190 years: </strong>Jonathan, who lives on the tiny South Atlantic island of St. Helena, was born about 1832.
LAND ANIMAL -- about 190 years: Jonathan, who lives on the tiny South Atlantic island of St. Helena, was born about 1832.
Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>BLOOMING ROSE -- approximately 1,200 years: </strong>A towering rose bush growing alongside a Catholic cathedral dedicated to St. Mary in Hildesheim, Germany, is thought to have been established by King Louis the Pious in 815.
BLOOMING ROSE -- approximately 1,200 years: A towering rose bush growing alongside a Catholic cathedral dedicated to St. Mary in Hildesheim, Germany, is thought to have been established by King Louis the Pious in 815.
Julian Stratenschulte/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
<strong>PLANTED TREE -- approximately 2,300 years: </strong>The fig tree under which Siddhartha Gautama experienced enlightenment in India is long gone, but a cutting from it was carried to Sri Lanka. It is planted in the Mahamevnawa Gardens in Anuradhapura.
PLANTED TREE -- approximately 2,300 years: The fig tree under which Siddhartha Gautama experienced enlightenment in India is long gone, but a cutting from it was carried to Sri Lanka. It is planted in the Mahamevnawa Gardens in Anuradhapura.
Shutterstock
<strong>WORKING TREE -- approximately 2,500 years: </strong>Whether planted by man or nature, between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago, a seed sprouted in the village of Vouves on the Mediterranean island of Crete that to this day produces a yearly crop of olives.
WORKING TREE -- approximately 2,500 years: Whether planted by man or nature, between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago, a seed sprouted in the village of Vouves on the Mediterranean island of Crete that to this day produces a yearly crop of olives.
Shutterstock
<strong>WILD HERB -- approximately 3,000 years: </strong>The Yareta or llareta, bright green blobs that resemble moss-covered boulders, are actually flowering shrubs designed to withstand punishing conditions in the Andes Mountains. The largest shrubs may date back 3,000 years.
WILD HERB -- approximately 3,000 years: The Yareta or llareta, bright green blobs that resemble moss-covered boulders, are actually flowering shrubs designed to withstand punishing conditions in the Andes Mountains. The largest shrubs may date back 3,000 years.
Marka/UIG/Getty Images
<strong>SINGLE TREE -- approximately 5,000 years:</strong> A bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California stands at the ripe old age of about 5,000, making it the oldest known non-cloned organism on Earth. Its exact location is a guarded secret, but hikers can wander by its ancient peers.
SINGLE TREE -- approximately 5,000 years: A bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California stands at the ripe old age of about 5,000, making it the oldest known non-cloned organism on Earth. Its exact location is a guarded secret, but hikers can wander by its ancient peers.
Shutterstock
<strong>LIVING ANIMAL -- approximately 15,000 years: </strong>The volcano sponges of Antarctica, Anoxycalyx joubini, are whitish blobs that resemble giant beer barrels or miniature volcanoes. They pepper the chilly waters around McMurdo Sound.
LIVING ANIMAL -- approximately 15,000 years: The volcano sponges of Antarctica, Anoxycalyx joubini, are whitish blobs that resemble giant beer barrels or miniature volcanoes. They pepper the chilly waters around McMurdo Sound.
Rob Robbins/EarthRef.org
<strong>LAND FOREST -- approximately 80,000 years: </strong>The Trembling Giant of Utah consists of almost 50,000 quaking aspen trees, but the entire grove of Populus tremuloides is genetically identical and shares a single root system, making it technically a single organism.
LAND FOREST -- approximately 80,000 years: The Trembling Giant of Utah consists of almost 50,000 quaking aspen trees, but the entire grove of Populus tremuloides is genetically identical and shares a single root system, making it technically a single organism.
Alamy
<strong>SEA FOREST -- approximately 200,000 years:</strong> A sprawling sea grass meadow ten miles long near Spain ranks as the oldest known single organism on Earth, according to geneticists.
SEA FOREST -- approximately 200,000 years: A sprawling sea grass meadow ten miles long near Spain ranks as the oldest known single organism on Earth, according to geneticists.
Shutterstock