Monday, December 09, 2024 - Wisdom, the world’s oldest known bird in the wild, is thriving and continues to defy the odds.
The 74-year-old Laysan albatross recently laid an egg at the
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Ocean, a remarkable feat
that underscores her resilience and longevity.
Wisdom was first identified and banded in 1956 by biologist
Chandler Robbins after she laid an egg on the atoll, located at the
northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago. "Of the more than 250,000
birds banded since Chandler Robbins banded Wisdom in 1956, the next oldest bird
we know about currently is just 52 years old," Jon Plissner, supervisory
wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told NPR.
In the decades since, Wisdom has returned annually to the
Midway Atoll to nest, surviving countless challenges. She weathered a deadly
tsunami in 2011 and has skillfully navigated man-made threats like fishing gear
and plastic debris. Her remarkable life journey has seen her fly an estimated 3
million miles—equivalent to traveling from Earth to the moon and back six
times.
Laysan albatrosses, known as mōlī in
Hawaiian, typically mate for life. However, after her longtime partner,
Akeakamai, failed to return, Wisdom adapted. She was seen performing courtship
dances with other males at Midway Atoll, a sign of her adaptability. This year,
she was observed mingling with potential suitors, but her new mate’s age
remains unknown. "We don't know her mate's age, as he was unbanded before
this week," Plissner explained, adding that it’s difficult to determine an
albatross’s age without early banding due to their unchanging plumage.
Over her lifetime, Wisdom is believed to have produced 50 to
60 eggs and successfully raised 30 chicks to the fledgling stage. Despite the
increasing risks to seabirds—predators, habitat changes, and the effects of
climate change—Wisdom has endured.
"The ongoing effects of climate change causing sea
level rise, as well as larger and severe storms, has resulted in the loss of
breeding habitat through inundation," Plissner noted. Yet, he added,
"Wisdom has somehow managed to avoid all of the hazards for more than 70
years."
Wisdom’s persistence and adaptability continue to serve as
an inspiration, embodying resilience in the face of an ever-changing world.
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