How extraordinary the eggs are!
The oldest known in the world wild birda Laysan albatross named Wisdomlaid an egg on a remote island in the central Pacific, exciting researchers.
She was filmed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) who are caring for the egg with its latest partner at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Ocean.
Wisdom, believed to be about 74 years old, hadn’t laid an egg in four years and Jonathan Plissner, a wildlife biologist at the refuge, called the new egg a “special joy.”
Although this particular type of albatross is known to have a long lifespan, researchers still don’t know exactly how long they can live and consider Wisdom’s longevity to be quite remarkable. She was identified by the service in 1956, when she was about five years old.
Her last offspring hatched in 2021, but she is believed to have had more than 30 chicks in her lifetime.
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While albatrosses typically mate for life, Wisdom’s long life means she has outlived at least three previous partners. His last partner, Akeakamai, has not been seen for several years, the USFWS said.
Plissner told the BBC that biologists I don’t know any birds close to its age — the next closest is around 45.
“It’s truly remarkable,” he said. “Wisdom seems to attract the interest of people all over the world. We look forward to his return every year.
Plissner said that despite her advanced age, Wisdom is full of energy and seems ready to be a mother again, should her egg hatch. There is about a 70 to 80 percent chance that a chick will emerge from the egg.
Wisdom, along with millions of other seabirds, return to the wildlife refuge each year.
“Wisdom, in particular, has been doing this since the Eisenhower administration,” notes the USFWS.
Carl Safina, a marine ecologist at Stony Brook University who studies seabirds, told the New York Times that Wisdom is impressive not only in its age and continued ability to spawn, but also in its ability to lay eggs. avoid threats which increasingly endanger albatross, including climate change and pollution.
“The fact that she’s old is one thing,” Dr. Safina said. “The fact that she has I survived this long is actually much more impressive.
Wisdom and her new partner will share incubation duties for the next two months and, if the chick hatches, feeding duties until the chick leaves the nest.
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