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.
A long-winged seabird named Wisdom the Laysan Albatross has returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on the northwestern tip of the Hawaiian Islands, laying what experts estimate is its 60th egg, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region. It is estimated that she was born in he said in a Facebook post this week.
Wisdom and her fellow Akeakamai have been returning to Pacific atolls to spawn and hatch since 2006. Laysan albatross mate for life and lay one egg per year. However, Akeakamai has not been seen in several years, and Wisdom began socializing with another male when she returned last week, officials 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.
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.
