Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Wisdom the albatross. Oldest confirmed living wild bird in the world.
This is incredible.
Wisdom hatched around 1951, and possibly earlier. In 1956, she was tagged by scientists as #Z333 at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. It is likely that Wisdom is older than 70, as when she was banded in 1956, she was conservatively estimated to be five years old — the earliest age that the Laysan albatross reaches sexual maturity.[2] The person to attach the first tag was Chandler Robbins, who was a senior scientist at the United States Geological Survey (USGS).[3] Birds are banded so that their populations can be monitored and individuals can be studied for data such as their longevity, behavior and migration patterns.[4]
On December 3 2014, Wisdom made headlines when she laid an egg at Midway Atoll. Her mate had arrived at the atoll on November 19, and Wisdom was first spotted by the refuge staff on November 22.[5] The egg was estimated to be the 36th egg that Wisdom had laid; albatrosses lay one egg per year, and have monogamous mates for life.[6] Smithsonian speculated that due to Wisdom's unusual longevity, she may have had to find another mate in order to continue breeding.[7]
The USGS has tracked Wisdom since she was first tagged, and have estimated that Wisdom has flown over 3,000,000 miles (4,800,000 km) since 1956 (approximately 120 times the circumference of the Earth). To accommodate her longevity, the USGS has replaced her tag a total of six times.[3] She and her chick survived the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that killed an estimated 2,000 adult Laysan and black-footed albatrosses, and a much larger number of chicks, at the refuge.[8]
Wisdom has laid some 30-40 eggs in her lifetime. Between 2005 and 2014, Wisdom laid eight eggs,[9] and hatched and reared another chick in December 2016 at the approximate age of 66. In December 2017, she bred again, and has successfully hatched a chick every year since 2006.[10][11] In December 2018, USFWS Pacific Region reported that Wisdom had returned to the Midway Atoll and had laid an egg.[12] The egg hatched in February 2019.[13]
In December 2020, it was reported that Wisdom was again incubating an egg.[14] The chick hatched on 1 February 2021.[15]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_(albatross)
On December 3 2014, Wisdom made headlines when she laid an egg at Midway Atoll. Her mate had arrived at the atoll on November 19, and Wisdom was first spotted by the refuge staff on November 22.[5] The egg was estimated to be the 36th egg that Wisdom had laid; albatrosses lay one egg per year, and have monogamous mates for life.[6] Smithsonian speculated that due to Wisdom's unusual longevity, she may have had to find another mate in order to continue breeding.[7]
The USGS has tracked Wisdom since she was first tagged, and have estimated that Wisdom has flown over 3,000,000 miles (4,800,000 km) since 1956 (approximately 120 times the circumference of the Earth). To accommodate her longevity, the USGS has replaced her tag a total of six times.[3] She and her chick survived the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that killed an estimated 2,000 adult Laysan and black-footed albatrosses, and a much larger number of chicks, at the refuge.[8]
Wisdom has laid some 30-40 eggs in her lifetime. Between 2005 and 2014, Wisdom laid eight eggs,[9] and hatched and reared another chick in December 2016 at the approximate age of 66. In December 2017, she bred again, and has successfully hatched a chick every year since 2006.[10][11] In December 2018, USFWS Pacific Region reported that Wisdom had returned to the Midway Atoll and had laid an egg.[12] The egg hatched in February 2019.[13]
In December 2020, it was reported that Wisdom was again incubating an egg.[14] The chick hatched on 1 February 2021.[15]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_(albatross)
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Thanks for the post; this is a wonderful story! 
