Revealing the world's oldest pair of owls

The pair of owls of Gerben and Fleur have just become the world's oldest parents of owls after laying eggs and hatching a young bird named Willow.

These owls belong to the Tawny Frogmouth species, living in Paultons park in Romsey, Hampshire, England. Scientists believe that this is the oldest Tawny Frogmouth pair in the world.

Gerben with Willow's daughter

According to his age, Gerben is 33 years old and Fleur is 29. With the average life span of this owl is 14 years, it can be seen that this pair of owls belongs to the 'upper class'. According to the Daily Mail (UK), if Gerben changed his age, he was 198 and Fleur was 174 years old.

Jamie Summers, Assistant Director at Paultons Park, said: 'We have never seen a Tawny Frogmouth who lived more than 30 years old when living in captivity. So far, Gerben has been the father of 7 or 8 children. Despite being old, it is still lively and agile like an adult owl. '

It is known that in nature Tawny Frogmouth species often eat small creatures like insects but they rarely hunt.

Adult individuals of this species can grow up to 53cm in length and weigh up to 0.7kg.