Choosing a long-lived pet’s the opposite of child’s play

IT SEEMS there might be hope for me yet.

Wisdom, a laysan albatross and the oldest known wild bird in history, has hatched another chick at the grand old age of 70.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service – which monitors the Midway Atoll national wildlife refuge in the north Pacific, where around a million albatross return annually to nest – reported that the father was Akeakamai, her long-term mate (well, at least he has been since 2010, as she has outlived a few others).

Sadly, Wisdom has also outlived the biologist, Chandler Robbins, who first banded her in 1956, so we know her age to be accurate.

It got me thinking about our pets, and how long they might live.

Parrots in captivity, where they are spared some of the rigours of a life in the wild, can sometimes become centenarians and survive through three generations of human owners, but our domestic pets fare less well. Felines tend to live the longest and I have regularly known Burmese cats over the age of 20.

Indeed, I once attended a 21st birthday party for one of them, complete with champagne reception, fourcourse meal, singers, dancers and two speakers.

Your average moggie, however, tends to survive 14 years or so.

With dogs, there is a huge variation in longevity between breeds.

Lurchers, whippets, labradors and collies tend, in general, to outlive French bulldogs, bulldogs and flat-coated retrievers but, of course there is individual variation.

Certainly, many brachycephalics, purchased by those with young families during the lockdown, will be unlikely to live to see the children leave school. And that is a terrible shame.

Rabbits (who, for welfare reasons are best not kept alone) are reputed to have a lifespan of six years or so, but many, if they can avoid dental issues and are properly fed, live much longer.

Guinea pigs don’t do quite as well but spare a thought for the poor hamster, who tends to fall off his wheel within a couple of years.

And then there are ornamental fish, many of whom fail to manage to make it to the first water change.

And, of course, there is a reason for dwelling on all this.

Consideration must be given to expected longevity, especially when obtaining a suitable pet for children.

What will they go through as their companion ages? What point will they be at when their animal passes away? Unfortunately, they are not all going to be as lucky as Wisdom.