Originally posted by Karen:
<STRONG>Franm, welcome! Glad to have your expertise, I thought the longevity was wrong, but hey - our Great Dane lived to be 14 1/2, when they're only supposed to livr to age 7-9 by most estimates, so maybe Missy and Mister'll do it, too!</STRONG>
Thanks for your note, Karen!
Visitors to the zoo have spoken of pets such as domestic ferrets and guinea pigs which have outlived their expected life spans.
One factor may be that a pet in a home may be given more opportunity to get out and live a more active and stimulating life with more exposure to interacting with people.
At the zoo the animals receive excellent care, but spend most of the time in cages with no one to give them that special attention that comes only with a dedicated owner. I wonder if that isn't a factor. I hope it will be so with Mister and Missy.
It's ironic that in this species, which has survived 70 million years, the individuals are so short-lived.
I'm also wondering if, given that they are male and female, they will breed. Now that would be very interesting!
F R A N