Shirley, the third oldest Asian elephant in North America, will turn 70 on Friday at the Elephant Sanctuary in Lewis County. At 72 years old, Shirley defied all odds as one of the oldest elephants in captivity and lived well beyond the life expectancy for a captive.

Reasons why people think keeping animals in zoos is bad for their welfare: the animal is deprived of its natural habitat. the animal may not have enough room. the animal is deprived of its natural social structure and companionship.

The study, which compared female African elephants in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park with those in zoos, found that the wild elephants lived three times as long on average, surviving to a median age of 56 years compared with 17 years for elephants living in captivity.

Although elephants can live up to 70 years, there are other factors to be considered. African elephants have a median of 56 years in the wild. On the other hand, Asian elephants have a median of 41 years. Researchers have found that elephants in the wild and zoos have different lifespans.

Clubb found that in recent years, the lifespan of zoo elephants had increased, but their odds of dying early were still about 3 times higher than those of their wild cousins. Clubb points the finger at stress and obesity as the main factors behind the earlier demise of zoo elephants.

The ten longest-living creatures in the world

• 10 Turritopsis dohrnii. The oldest living creature is a jellyfish just a few millimetres long and can be found in moderate to tropical waters.
• 1 Asian Elephant.
• 2 Blue and yellow macaw.
• 3 Man.
• 4 Giant lobsters.
• 5 Bowhead whale.
• 6 Giant tortoise.
• 7 Greenland shark.