The Oldest Known Wild Bird Lays Egg at 74
The US Fish & Wildlife Service has announced that Wisdom, the oldest known wild bird, has laid an egg at the ripe age of approximately 74. This marks her first egg in four years, and experts estimate that this may be her 60th egg.
Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, has been returning to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge at the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago to lay and hatch eggs with her mate, Akeakamai, since 2006. However, Akeakamai has not been seen for several years, and Wisdom has begun interacting with another male.
As Laysan albatrosses mate for life and lay one egg per year, it is expected that Wisdom’s egg will hatch. According to Jonathan Plissner, supervisory wildlife biologist at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, “We are optimistic that the egg will hatch.” Albatross parents take turns incubating an egg for about seven months, after which chicks fly out to sea to spend most of their lives flying over the ocean and feeding on squid and fish eggs.
Wisdom has raised as many as 30 chicks over the years and has defied the typical lifespan of a Laysan albatross, which is 68 years, as stated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.