63 year old mum gives birth again!
Well it is Valentines day!
Laysan albatross called Wisdom, world's oldest wild bird gives birth at age of 63 | Mail Online
Quote:
World's oldest wild bird gives birth at the ripe old age of 63 - making her a mother for the 35th time - Wisdom is an albatross thought to be the oldest wild bird in the world
- Her latest chick hatched at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
- Experts believe the bird could have raised as many as 35 chicks in her life
- She was banded in 1956 and has since flown more than 3million miles
The world’s oldest known free-flying bird continues to break records by becoming a new parent again at the ripe old age of 63.
The Laysan albatross called Wisdom hatched her latest chick at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Japan earlier this month.
Experts believe the grey and white bird could have raised as many as 35 chicks in her lifetime - and she is showing no signs of stopping.
Wisdom was officially tagged by scientists in 1956 and has since recorded more than 3million miles flying around the coast of Hawaii and beyond.
Experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claim Wisdom is the oldest bird they know of in the organisation’s 90-year history and has consistently laid eggs over the past three decades.
Wisdom and her young chick were photographed on the island in Midway Atoll, a small U.S. territory that lies nestled in the North Pacific between Honolulu and Tokyo.
'As the world’s oldest known bird in the wild, Wisdom is an iconic symbol of inspiration and hope for all seabird species,' said Dan Clark, refuge manager for Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
'She provides to the world valuable information about the longevity of these beautiful creatures.
'In the case of Wisdom, she has logged literally millions of miles over the Pacific Ocean in her lifetime to find enough fish eggs and squid to feed herself and multiple chicks, allowing us the opportunity to measure the health of our oceans which sustain albatross as well as ourselves.'
The chick, whose gender is unknown at present, hatched on 4 February and is said to be doing well.
The Laysan species of albatross traditionally mate with one partner for life and lay only one egg at a time.
However, scientists do not know whether Wisdom has had the same mate for all these years.
Laysan albatross breed on the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, at Kaena Point, and on Kauai, at Kilauea Point.
Their feeding grounds are off the west coast of North America, including the Gulf of Alaska, and they spend their first three to five years constantly flying, never touching land. Scientists believe they even sleep while flying over the ocean.
Albatross lay only one egg a year, but it takes much of that year to incubate and raise the chick. After several consecutive years in which they have successfully raised and fledged a chick, the parents may take the occasional year off from parenting.
Re: 63 year old mum gives birth again!
I always thought the longest living birds were parrots. I seem to remember some years ago that a parrot which acted in a film was the oldest 'actor' being around 74 years old. Can't recall the film now, but it was a question on one of those daytime trivia quiz shows.
Re: 63 year old mum gives birth again!
The only film I can think of with a lot of parrots was The Africa Queen.
Some of them escaped and their offspring are still flying free around West London.
Re: 63 year old mum gives birth again!
Re: 63 year old mum gives birth again!
I wonder if it just natural instinct to attack the low life or did the owner train it to handle the press that way?
