It’s the first time in four years that the world’s oldest known wild bird has laid an egg at the ripe old age of about 74, U.S. wildlife officials said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region says the Laysan albatross, a long-winged seabird named Wisdom, has returned to the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on the northwest tip of the Hawaiian Islands with what experts estimate is its 60th egg. announced that she had given birth. This week’s Facebook post.
Wisdom and her fellow Akeakamai had been returning to the Pacific atoll to spawn and hatch since 2006. Laysan albatross mate for life and lay one egg a year, but the Laysan albatross has not been seen in several years, according to the VA. Wisdom returned to the island last week and immediately “started courting dances with other males,” she said.
“We are optimistic that the eggs will hatch,” Jonathan Prisner, a supervisory wildlife biologist at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, said in a statement. Millions of seabirds return to the sanctuary each year to nest and raise their young.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Facebook
Albatross parents take turns incubating the eggs for about seven months. The chicks fly to the sea about 5 to 6 months after hatching. They spend most of their lives flying over the ocean, feeding on squid and fish eggs.
Prisner said Wisdom was first tagged as an adult in 1956 and has raised 30 chicks.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the typical lifespan of a Laysan albatross is 68 years.
as 60 minutes reported In 2018, Wisdom is now at an advanced age, defying not only the typical odds of longevity for her species, but also the odds created by the harsh conditions of her natural habitat. She nested on the islands of Midway Atoll. plastic pollution. The 60 Minutes team found that many of Wisdom’s albatross friends were dying around her with bellies full of plastic, giving researchers some cause for optimism. pointed out.
The USFWS called Wisdom “a world-renowned symbol of hope for all species whose survival depends on the health of our oceans.”
