The San Diego Zoo is pursuing Guinness World Records accreditation for a Pacific pocket mouse considered to be the world's oldest at the age of 9.
Pat, a Pacific pocket mouse named after actor Patrick Stewart, is thought to be the world's oldest surviving mouse, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
Pat was born at the zoo on July 12, 2013, and the wildlife alliance said it would host a special event on February 8 to honour the mouse's longevity and compete for the title of longest surviving mouse in human care in the Guinness World Records. Pat's age will be verified by a GWR adjudicator who will attend the event.
The zoo started a breeding and reintroduction effort for the Pacific pocket mouse in 2012 to assist counter population reductions. The Pacific pocket mouse is the smallest species of mouse in North America.
Fritzy, the oldest mouse ever recorded by Guinness World Records, died in 1985 at the age of 7 years and 7 months.
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