World record. This albatross is a real old man, and yet he did it
This is the oldest such case in the history of observing wild birds. An aged female dark-faced albatross has just shown that age is sometimes not an obstacle to doing seemingly impossible things. The 74-year-old bird thus entered the history of ornithology with an extraordinary feat.
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This story took place in a reserve on Midway Atoll, part of the American Hawaiian archipelago. An elderly lady, a 74-year-old female albatross named Wisdom, was recorded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under rather unusual circumstances.. The bird was taking care of its newest egg.
The oldest specimen
Wisdom is special for many reasons. Dark-faced albatrosses usually live for 12-40 years, but Wisdom was ringed in 1956. Combined with the fact that there are no known cases of laying an egg at an age younger than 5 years for this species, it was possible to estimate how old the female is currently.
Researchers predict that Wisdom became a mother to over 30 chicks throughout her life. As Kon Pilssner, a biologist working in the Midway Atoll reserve, says, quoted by the website Naukawpolsce.pl, researchers do not know of any other bird of this species that is close to it in terms of age – the next one is 45 years old.
Pilssner added that Wisdom still seems to have enough energy and maternal instinct to raise another chick. According to him, the chances of an offspring hatching from her latest egg are 70-80 percent.
