Owls become world's oldest parents

A pair of owls have become the world's oldest parents.

The Tawny Frogmouth birds, Gerben, 33, and Fleur, 29, have a combined age of 372 in human years and have shocked keepers at their home in Poultons Park, Hampshire, southern England, after hatching baby bird Willow nine weeks ago.

Jamie Summers, assistant livestock manager at the park, told the Mail Online: "We have done lots of research and we cannot find a Tawny Frogmouth in captivity that is older than 30.

"We wouldn't normally calculate their ages in human years like you might do with a dog, but if you were to base it on calculations then Gerben could be almost 200 years old.

"He has had seven or eight babies in his lifetime and although he is old, he is still acting as if he was a teenager."

The frisky feathered friends have already exceeded expectations after sailing past the average owl age of 14, and the pair - whose species originate from Australia - will remain together until one of them dies.

Jamie added: "Some birds don't act any different as they get older and will carry on breeding and behaving in their natural way, however some species stop as they age.

"He does get a bit grumpy sometimes because Fleur makes him sit on the eggs, which take between 25 and 30 days to hatch.

"He is well past what he should have reached in age but he is still very healthy apart from a slightly broken beak."