Grow, reproduce, die—but some creatures bend the rules of time. Sponges live 11,000 years, Greenland sharks over 500, while butterflies last just a day. Do tortoises, elephants, or immortal jellyfish experience time like we do? Memory, perception, and survival shape life’s rhythm, yet not all species measure it the same way. In the wild, longevity is dictated by genetics and the relentless drive to survive and reproduce—because in nature, the individual may be fleeting, but life itself endures.

Most animals live just one to ten years, and some survive only days, never witnessing a single sunset. Lifespan isn’t tied to intelligence, size, or predator status: clever octopuses die in under a year, tiny termite queens can live 50 years, and giant squids barely last three. Evolution has shaped life in astonishingly varied ways, from fleeting insects to centuries-old mussels. Survival is a high-stakes gamble—95% of cheetah cubs don’t reach their first birthday. In nature, some of the oldest life forms are paradoxically the shortest-lived, as if designed with planned obsolescence.