The New York Times features the world’s oldest known wild bird, Wisdom the Laysan Albatross who has hatched a new chick in Midway Atoll. Still, the presence of invasive mice remains a persistent threat.

Nearly sixty-five years ago, Wisdom a Laysan albatross, was first identified and banded by researchers on Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Today, now at least 70 years old, Wisdom is the world’s oldest known wild breeding bird.

The Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial, located North of the Hawaiian Islands, is home to a diverse array of wildlife. Despite being only 2.5 square miles in size, Midway Atoll supports the world’s largest colony of Laysan Albatross and provides habitat for more than 28 other species.

Every winter, albatross including Wisdom return to Midway Atoll to breed and nest. Albatross only lay one egg at a time due to the energy it takes for incubating, feeding, and parenting their chicks. Biologists estimate Wisdom has hatched somewhere between 30 and 36 chicks, and for the past 15 years, researchers have recorded Wisdom hatching chicks almost every year.

Ordinarily, you expect albatross to age in the same way as humans and for their breeding frequency and success to drop off with increasing age, so again Wisdom is unusual in that she still seems to be breeding fairly regularly,” says Professor Richard Phillips, a seabird ecologist and head of the higher predators conservation group at the British Antarctic Survey.

Most Laysan Albatross live between 12 and 40 years, but Wisdom has survived nearly twice as long. Amazingly, she has defied all expectations, logging hundreds of thousands of miles of flight around the Pacific Ocean.

You wouldn’t expect a bird to be quite as much of an outlier as she is,” Professor Phillips added.

Usually, Albatross mate for life, but Wisdom’s longevity means she has had multiple mates in her lifetime. Akeakamai whose name means “love of wisdom,” is the father of Wisdom’s newest chick and has been with Wisdom since at least 2012. This summer, their chick will be ready to fly for the first time. Once Laysan Albatrosses successfully fledge, they head out to sea and spend five to seven years soaring over the ocean, before returning back to Midway Atoll to practice courtship and begin mating and nesting.

This time on the open ocean is typically the most dangerous phase of an Albatross’s life, but with the presence of invasive mice on Midway Atoll, this safe haven is not so safe—a fact that Island Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument are hoping to change. Plans to remove the predatory mice in 2020, were put on hold as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the partners remain committed, explains Island Conservation Project Manager, Wes Jolley:

We are eager to see Midway Atoll free of invasive mice, and once again safe for Wisdom and the millions of other birds that rely on the islands. Despite the delay, the advanced stages of planning leave us well-positioned to pick things up, as soon as it is safe to do so.”

The project is expected to move forward in 2022, meaning Midway will a safe haven for Wisdom’s latest chick once it returns.

Source: The New York Times
Featured photo: Wisdom’s mate and chick. Credit: Jon Brack/Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge