UPI – Officials with the San Diego Zoo said it is seeking Guinness World Records recognition for a Pacific pocket mouse believed to be the oldest in the world at the age of nine.
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, which operates the zoo, said a Pacific pocket mouse named Pat – in honour of actor Patrick Stewart – is believed to be the oldest living mouse in the world at the age of nine years and five months.
Pat was born at the zoo on July 12, 2013, and the wildlife alliance said it will hold a special event on February 8 to celebrate the mouse’s longevity and attempt to secure the Guinness World Records title of oldest living mouse in human care. A Guinness World Records adjudicator is slated to attend the event to verify Pat’s age.
The Pacific pocket mouse is the smallest species of mouse in North America, and the zoo established a breeding and reintroduction programme for the species in 2012 to help offset population declines.
