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I've been under the impression for many years that the oldest living organism on the planet was the giant underground fungus in Oregon. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-... It seems to have the title of "largest" locked down, but it's a viable contender for "oldest" as well. It's at least worth a mention anyway.
Radiolab had a show on this story back in the day: http://www.radiolab.org/story/91722-be-careful-what-you-plan...
The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe also discussed the 80,000 year old clonal tree in a recent episode (I think the latest?). http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We're arguably the least cavalier about taking life of any life on earth. In the wild, life is so cheap and valueless that when we witness unspeakable acts of horrific wild violence, we have to condition it: wild is wild, nature is nature, human expectations and morality don't apply.
Really? What did you have for lunch today? All the herbivores in Animal Kingdom would disagree with that statement.
I've been under the impression for many years that the oldest living organism on the planet was the giant underground fungus in Oregon. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-... It seems to have the title of "largest" locked down, but it's a viable contender for "oldest" as well. It's at least worth a mention anyway.
Probably a few rotifers and tardigrades are the oldest organisms since they can lie dormant for many years and then be reanimated with water. Perhaps millions of years!!!
There was a tree. Someone was trying to check it's age and his bit got stuck. He cut the tree down to retrieve his bit, finding the tree to be the oldest living (something). I don't have a link. Probably on Atlas Obscura.
a book about this very topic: http://www.rachelsussman.com/oltw/
How cavalier we are about taking life of other species.
We're arguably the least cavalier about taking life of any life on earth. In the wild, life is so cheap and valueless that when we witness unspeakable acts of horrific wild violence, we have to condition it: wild is wild, nature is nature, human expectations and morality don't apply.
Fungi beat us in this respect. Most of them feed exclusively on dead matter.