World's oldest known wild bird lays egg at 74 years old
Wisdom, the world’s oldest known wild bird, has done it again, laying an egg on a remote island in the central Pacific. (USFWS/Dan Rapp / FOX Weather)
HONOLULU - Wisdom, the world's oldest known wild bird, has done it again, laying an egg on a remote island in the central Pacific.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific region says the 74-year-old Laysan albatross returned to the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in late November to lay an egg.
The bird was first tagged in 1956 by experts with the United States Geological Survey and has likely flown millions of miles across the Pacific Ocean.
"Like other Laysan albatross, or mōlī in Hawaiian, Wisdom returns to the same nesting site each year to reunite with her mate and if able, lay one egg. For decades she did this with the same partner, Akeakamai, but that bird has not been seen for several years," the USFWS stated.
Experts have not said what they believe has led Wisdom's remarkable longevity, as most albatrosses typically live between 40 and 60 years.
Female albatrosses usually lay one egg every year or two, meaning Wisdom has likely laid around 30 to 45 eggs over her lifetime.
The islands in the central Pacific serve as the birds' home during the late fall, winter and spring before they fly north to the fishing grounds in Alaska for the warmer months.
According to the USFWS, more than 97% of Laysan albatross call the northwestern Hawaiian Islands home.
In photos and videos released by the agency, Wisdom can be seen with her leg band, with the identification number of Z333.
Biologists said her new mate was recently banded as well, which aids biologists in telling the birds apart.
The Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge sits about 2,400 miles west-northwest of Hawaii and is home to millions of birds and other marine species.
The land was previously a U.S. naval base, but in 1996 it was transferred to the Department of the Interior and became a refuge.
According to the USFWS, around 70% of the world's Laysan albatrosses use the refuge for nesting despite constant threats from tsunamis, cyclones and climate change.