Laysan albatros Wisdom, approximately 75 years old, hatched a new chick in 2025 after forming a new pair bond

A female Laysan albatros known as Wisdom, estimated to be approximately 75 years old, successfully hatched a new chick in January 2025 after forming a new pair bond with a male identified by the band EX25. This event occurred on the remote Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, where the bird has been documented returning to its nesting site for the 2024/2025 season. The chick's birth marks a significant biological milestone for the species, as Wisdom holds the record for the oldest known wild bird with a verified age. The story was reported by Xataka, which detailed the continuous monitoring of the bird's life history and reproductive success over several decades.

The age of Wisdom is established through a continuous record of banding that began on December 10, 1956, when the ornithologist Chandler Robbins placed a small aluminum identification band, known as band Z333, on the bird. At the time of banding, the albatros was already incubating an egg. According to records from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, female Laysan albatrosses do not reach sexual maturity to begin breeding until at least five years of age, and often take until eight or nine years to do so successfully. Therefore, if Wisdom was incubating an egg in late 1956, her year of birth could not have been later than 1951. In the early 2000s, Robbins recaptured the bird and confirmed her identity, consolidating an unbroken banding record through successive replacements of the original mark.

The quality of this information is based on continuous monitoring by official institutions and conservation programs such as Friends of Midway Atoll. Over her lifetime, it is estimated that Wisdom has flown millions of kilometers over the Pacific and laid between 50 and 60 eggs. Of these, she has successfully raised approximately 30 to 35 chicks. The USGS notes that there is a gap of more than two decades between Wisdom and the next oldest known albatros in North American records. The typical lifespan for this species ranges between 40 and 68 years, a range that Wisdom has significantly exceeded.

The reproductive history of Wisdom has been marked by monogamy and long-term pair bonds. For many years, she was observed with a male named Akeakamai. Following the recent disappearance of this partner, her reproductive future seemed uncertain. However, during the nesting season that began in late 2024, cameras and observers on the atoll confirmed that Wisdom had returned and formed a new bond with the male identified by band EX25. In November 2024, she laid a new egg, which culminated in the hatching of a chick in January 2025. This outcome demonstrates the strong resilience of the species, as the bird continues to challenge biological expectations regarding longevity and reproductive capacity in wild marine birds.