A Laysan albatross named Wisdom, believed to be around 74 years old, has laid an egg, making her the world’s oldest known wild bird to do so, according to US biologists. The egg was observed at the Midway Atoll national wildlife refuge in the Pacific Ocean, where Wisdom was filmed with her current mate guarding the egg. Typically, Laysan albatrosses live between 12 and 40 years, but Wisdom was tagged in 1956 when she was approximately five years old. Her last chick hatched in 2021, and throughout her life, she is thought to have raised over 30 offspring.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service shared that Wisdom, the world’s oldest known wild bird, has paired up with a new mate this year. Her previous partner, Akeakamai, has not been seen in several years. While Laysan albatrosses typically mate for life, Wisdom is believed to have outlived at least three partners.
Jon Plissner, a supervisory wildlife biologist at the Midway Atoll refuge, said that Wisdom is one of the two to three million Laysan albatrosses that come to Midway each year to breed. Plissner mentioned that biologists know of no other albatrosses even close to her age, with the oldest recorded being 45 years old. “It’s really been remarkable,” he said. “Wisdom seems to captivate people worldwide. We wait eagerly for her return each year.”
Plissner also noted that Wisdom still appears to have the energy and instincts to raise another chick, with a 70-80% chance that her egg will hatch. Albatross parents share the responsibility of incubating the egg and, once hatched, feeding the chick.
Wisdom was first tagged in 1956 after laying an egg. Laysan albatrosses typically don’t breed before the age of five. The Midway Atoll, part of the Hawaiian archipelago but not within Hawaii itself, is an unincorporated U.S. territory and hosts the world’s largest albatross colony.