The oldest wild bird on record has once again returned to her breeding ground.
Wisdom is a 75-year-old Laysan albatross who’s been breeding on Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean for seven decades. After mating, females lay a single egg, which the mating pair raises together. A few years ago, Wisdom’s mate did not return with her, but a year ago, she came back with a new mate.
Albatrosses spend up to 90 percent of their time in the air. In her lifetime, Wisdom has flown an estimated three million miles, laid 50 to 60 eggs and raised nearly 36 chicks.
Wisdom is a grandmother as of 2021, and she’s outlived the ornithologist who placed an identification band on her in 1956. Now, her many followers are eagerly waiting to hear if she and her mate can successfully raise a chick during this breeding season.
