On our new Tale of Wonder, we travel halfway across the globe to the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to meet Wisdom. This Laysan Albatross is not only the world’s known oldest banded bird but also the oldest documented wild bird approximated at 70 years old of age.

The story of Wisdom began to unfold in 2002 when Chandler Robbins, a bird biologist made a miraculous re-sighting of a banded albatross that, thanks to the U.S bird banding records, proved that the bird was indeed the one he had first banded way back on the 10th of December 1956.

On the 01st of February 2021 Wisdom had her latest single hatchling, making her the oldest bird in the world to bear a young one. A female Laysan Albatross lays a single egg in a span of more than 1 year that is brooded for approximately 3 months before hatching. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) approximates that Wisdom must have had between 30-36 hatchling to date.

Up till now, Wisdom resides in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge which harbour’s the world’s largest albatross colony.

Photo: Wisdom and her 1 week old chick as of the 11th of February 2021

Source: U.S Fish and Wildlife Service