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Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Answering your questions about life, Earth and the universe

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

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CrowdScience: From Oldest to Strongest Living Thing

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Kumbuka

08/12/2017 GMT

From Oldest to Strongest Living Thing

BBC World Service - CrowdScience, From Oldest to Strongest Living Thing

We revisit the oldest organism on Earth and meet the strongest

We revisit the oldest organism on Earth and meet the strongest.

Trees are old – they transcend human generations – but are they the oldest living things on Earth?  This story began in June 2017 when we explored a question sent in from CrowdScience listener William. Many of you got in touch after the programme with questions of your own. So we’re revisiting our trees programme but also exploring another question from listener James, who wants to know what, pound for pound or gram for gram, is the strongest animal alive on Earth today? Marnie Chesterton wrestles with one of them and – spoiler alert – it’s not a gorilla. 

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Jen Whyntie

(Photo: Kumbuka, a 15-year-old western lowland gorilla. Credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

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