At the ripe age of roughly 74, the world’s oldest known wild bird lay her first egg in four years, according to U.S. wildlife officials.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region said on Facebook this week that Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, a long-winged seabird, had returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on the northwest coast of the Hawaiian Archipelago and laid what experts believe to be her 60th egg.
Since 2006, Wisdom had been returning to the Pacific Ocean atoll with her partner, Akeakamai, to lay and hatch eggs. Laysan albatrosses deposit one egg annually and mate for life. However, when Wisdom returned last week, she started talking to another man, according to officials, and Akeakamai hasn’t been seen in years.
In a statement, Jonathan Plissner, supervisory wildlife biologist at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, expressed optimism that the egg would hatch. Millions of seabirds visit the refuge each year to lay their eggs and nurture their young.
For almost seven months, the parents of albatrosses alternately incubate one egg. Five to six months after hatching, the chicks take to the skies. They soar over the ocean and eat fish eggs and squid for the most of their life.
Wisdom, the legendary Laysan albatross or m l , stands at right with red leg tag next to her new partner as they admire their recently laid egg at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024 in Honolulu. (Dan Rapp/USFWS via AP)
Image: Dan Rapp/Associated Press
According to Plissner, Wisdom has raised up to 30 chicks since being banded as an adult for the first time in 1956.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that a Laysan albatross typically lives for 68 years.
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