Laysan Albatross Wisdom: A 70-Year-Old Love Story in Midway Atoll

Recently, researchers on Midway Island discovered a female Laysan albatross named Wisdom, who is over 70 years old, actively seeking a new mate following the end of the nesting season. As the world’s oldest wild bird, Wisdom has been flying around the North Pacific since President Eisenhower and was first identified in 1956.

Despite not laying eggs this year, Wisdom continues to participate in mating rituals, demonstrating her resilience and agility for her age. Female Laysan albatrosses typically lay eggs in December, but Wisdom’s usual partner, Akeakamai, has been missing for two nesting seasons prompting her to seek out new potential mates.

Midway Atoll hosts the largest population of Laysan albatrosses with 600,000 breeding pairs returning each year. Wisdom has been actively courting other birds during the mating season and with an estimated 5.6 million kilometers flown in her lifetime, she has covered significant distances in the North Pacific.

Wisdom’s contribution to the population of Laysan albatrosses is not only through her mating rituals but also through her laying of an estimated 60 eggs throughout her life. Despite not nesting this year, Wisdom’s presence on Midway Atoll is a testament to her endurance and determination as she continues to search for a new mate at the age of 70 years old.