The oldest known wild bird – an albatross named Wisdom – has laid an egg at the ripe old age of 74, after finding a new mate earlier this year.
Wisdom was first identified and banded by biologists after she laid an egg at Midway Atoll in 1956. As albatrosses do not lay eggs before the age of five, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service now estimates her age to be at least 74 years old.
Every year in November, this population of albatrosses returns to Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean in order to find a mate, following some impressive courtship dancing, of course.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service believe that Wisdom may have laid 50-60 eggs in her lifetime, with as many as 30 becoming fully fledged chicks. Most of these would be with her longstanding mate, Akeakamai, who she partnered up with for an impressive 60 years.
“Each year that Wisdom returns, we learn more about how long seabirds can live and raise chicks,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Dr Beth Flint explained in a statement in 2021. “Her return not only inspires bird lovers everywhere, but helps us better understand how we can protect these graceful seabirds and the habitat they need to survive into the future.”
But in 2021, and the years that followed, Akeakamai failed to return to the nesting spot, having likely passed away. Earlier this year, Wisdom raised hopes that she may mate again, when she was spotted actively courting other birds in March.
“At least 70 years old, we believe Wisdom has had other mates,” Dr Flint added. “Though albatross mate for life, they may find new partners if necessary – for example if they outlive their first mate.”
Wisdom was a little out of season, but having returned to the atoll this November, she was seen interacting with a new mate. Now, the US Fish and Wildlife Service have announced that she has laid an egg at 74 years old.
“She’s unique,” biologist Jon Plissner told BBC Radio 4’s Today program. “We don’t know of any others that are even close to her age. The next closest we know of that’s here currently […] are about 45 years old, so it is very rare.”
Most eggs are laid at the atoll in early December. The incubation period for albatross eggs is 64-65 days, with most new chicks hatching in January/February of the following year. It could be a tense wait, but the chick is expected to hatch, or at least to have good odds of doing so.
“It should,” Plissner added. “We have about 70 or 80 percent of our eggs that are laid here hatch every year. Then about 50 percent or so of those will actually survive to fledge, and leave Midway.”