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.
