World's oldest known wild bird, Wisdom, is spotted courting new suitors
The world's oldest known wild bird may have lost her mate, but she was recently seen courting new suitors.
The Laysan albatross, or mōlī, known as Wisdom has been photographed dancing with potential mates at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the North Pacific Ocean, according to SWNS, the British news service.
The seabird is recognized by her well-known band number Z333.
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She is thought to be around 72 years old.
Wisdom has been seen only sporadically since arriving for nesting season in late November, according to reports.
In March, she was spotted socializing with male birds.
Her long-time mate, Akeakamai, has yet to be seen this season, and he was not seen during the last two nesting seasons, either, according to SWNS.
Mōlī females lay a single egg in the first half of December, said Jonathan Plissner, supervisory wildlife biologist at the national wildlife refuge. (They lay only one egg per year.)
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Yet that didn’t stop the 72-year-old Wisdom from participating in mating dances last month with a few suitors.
"She was still actively courting other birds in March," Plissner told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "She is quite spry for a septuagenarian."
Biologists first identified and banded Wisdom in 1956 after she laid an egg. The large seabirds aren’t known to breed before age five.
It is estimated that Wisdom has produced 50 to 60 eggs and as many as 30 chicks that fledged in her lifetime, according to Plissner.
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Each year, millions of seabirds return to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the North Pacific Ocean to nest and raise their young.
It's a sanctuary for millions of "seabirds, shorebirds and various marine life who all call the island home," according to the refuge's website.
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"The purpose of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial is to serve as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds, monk seals, sea turtles and other wildlife, while also protecting cultural resources from the Commercial Pacific Cable Company to the historic Battle of Midway," the site also notes.
Several years ago, Fox News Digital reported that when not laying eggs, Wisdom spends 90% of her time at sea, feeding on squid and fish eggs.
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"In the past, many albatrosses were banded with aluminum bands that sometimes became corroded by sand and salt water. These early bands would often fall off in 20 years or less," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in 2018.
But the same is not true for Wisdom, who was reportedly first banded by a biologist named Chandler Robbins in 1956. Experts have replaced Wisdom's bands over the years.
The Laysan albatross, known as mōlī in Hawaiian, is a long-living seabird that pairs for life with a single mate, Live Science reported.
"The birds are named after a breeding colony of 145,000 pairs on Laysan, one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands located 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) northwest of Honolulu."
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