Wisdom, the world’s oldest known bird, has laid another egg at the ripe old age of 74.
A Laysan albatross, Wisdom returns to the same nesting site, on Midway Atoll, each year to reunite with her mate and if able, lay one egg.
For decades she returned to the Hawaiian archipelago island with the same partner, Akeakamai, but the bird has not been seen for several years.
After returning to the Midway Atoll in November, Wisdom began interacting with a male and the queen of seabirds has now laid another egg.
Wisdom’s story is remarkable, as the species usually only live for 12-40 years, but Wisdom was tagged in 1956 when she was about five.
Her last offspring hatched in 2021 and she is thought to have had more than 30 chicks in her lifetime. The species generally mates for life but she is already thought to have outlived at least three mates.
Jon Plissner, supervisory wildlife biologist at Midway Atoll NWR, called Wisdom’s first egg in four years “a special joy” and said she seems to still have the energy and instincts for raising another chick.
“We are optimistic that the egg will hatch,” he wrote.
He added that biologists were unaware of any other birds even close to her age, the oldest being 45.
Wisdom still appeared to have the energy and instincts to raise another chick, and experts are hopeful that there is a 70-80% chance of the egg hatching.
Albatross parents share incubation duties and, once the chick hatches, feeding duties.
The wildlife refuge is said to home two to three million Laysan albatrosses ready to breed.