The herring porcupine was ringed on 16 July 1974 on Stora Karlsö off Gotland and was recently found dead on the Gotska sand island. This means that it was 48 years and 11 months.
The previous age record was announced last year, even then it was a herring piglet that reached the age of 48 years and seven months.
– This is the fifth herring piglet tagged in Sweden that has become older than 45 years, which shows that the species regularly reaches impressively high ages, says Thord Fransson, responsible for Swedish ringing at the National Museum of Natural History in a press release.
The herring piglet will probably be sent on to the Statens Veterinärmedicinska Anstalt (SVA) to be tested for bird flu.
Ringing of birds has been going on since 1911 in Sweden and the first herring pigs were already marked in 1913 on Stora Karlsö.
Hear Thord Fransson tell about why herring piglets grow old and about the world’s oldest bird – a living 70-year-old albatross