Blue whales hold some of the most interesting records of the natural world. As a general species, they are one of the longest living, largest and most intelligent animals on Earth. The longest living whale is the Bowhead whale. They have been known to live for 230 years! Other whales such as the Blue whale and Finn whale come second with an average of 80 - 90 year lifespan. The average lifespan for other whale species is approximately 60 - 70 years. Like humans, marine biologists can tell the age of a whale by looking at their teeth where rings form that show the age. However only this can be done on toothed whales. Whales that do not have teeth are called baleen whales. The age of these types of whales can be checked in a similar way by looking at rings formed inside a whale's earplug. Naturally, whales do live for a very long time but poaching and captivity cuts their lifespan short. A Killer whale normally lives to around 65 years of age in the wild, but in captivity they usually only live to the ages between 25 and 35. Whaling, the hunting/poaching of whales, has become a huge problem for all types of whale species all over the world. Countries that are most common for whaling are Norway, Iceland and in particular Japan who have killed several thousand Mink whales over the past few decades.