A bowhead whale living today could have been born before the American Civil War. Scientists estimate the species can live more than 200 years, while 19th-century harpoon fragments found embedded in harvested whales provide extraordinary physical evidence of their longevity — making bowheads the longest-lived mammals known.

A bowhead whale living today could have been born before the American Civil War. Scientists estimate the species can live more than 200 years, while 19th-century harpoon fragments found embedded in harvested whales provide extraordinary physical evidence of their longevity — making bowheads the longest-lived mammals known.

A bowhead whale moving beneath Arctic ice today could, in principle, have been born before the American Civil War. At 165 years old in 2026, it would have entered the world before fighting began at Fort Sumter. At 200, it would predate the first photograph of a person, the telegraph and the modern petroleum industry. This is not just an arresting comparison. Chemical dating of bowhead eye lenses has produced age estimates beyond two centuries, w…