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| Akeakamai and his chick |
April 6, 2019
Wisdom, the Laysan albatross, and the world's oldest known banded bird, is a remarkable 68 years old. She and her mate, Akeakamai (which means "lover of wisdom") hatched another egg in February. You just know he has to be a younger fellow.
I first discovered Wisdom in 2011. Her story is fascinating to many nature lovers. She was banded on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 1956 by a guy named Robbins. She was already five or six years old at the time. Many years later, in 2002, Robbins went back to Midway Atoll and re-sighted her. Apparently, Wisdom had been missing for those many years in between.
Her story gets even better. Wisdom and her consorts, of which there have been a few, have successfully raised at least 35 chicks. Wisdom and Akeakamai have produced an egg every year since 2006, another odd feat considering the Laysan albatross typically lays every other year.
I know that someday I'm going to check in on Wisdom and find she's missing again. Considering her age, the next time may be for good. It'll be a sad day but nothing can erase the story of this singular life and the joy she brings to millions simply by being herself.
Live long and prosper, Wisdom.
KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
Some Laysan albatrosses are dying as chicks after being fed small pieces of plastic. The plastic builds up in their stomachs until they can't eat and they starve to death. No one has to turn into a recycling fanatic to make a difference by being aware within their daily life. All of us doing what we can when we can does have a long-term impact.
July 26, 2017
Every once in a while, cyberspace, namely Google, throws me a bone. I ran a search on Easter Island and up popped a story about Wisdom the Laysan albatross.
Having followed Wisdom for several years, I must confess I didn't check on her this past spring. She's at least 66 years old now, and I suppose I fear that one day there will be bad news.
This year's little fluffball hatched on February 16th. It's estimated this chick is number 30 to 35 for Wisdom. At the time, both appeared to be in good health. Proud pappa Akeakamai is not Wisdom's first mate. She's had several in the course of her life, outliving them all. The chick has already been banded and I wish for it as long a life as its mother's.
Wisdom was first banded December 10, 1956, as an adult, so we do have a close approximation of her age. It's wonderful to have such a history on her, except we don't. Wisdom is a bit sneaky. After they managed to put a band on her, she evaded being spotted until 2002! Can you imagine the surprise when the scientists realized who they'd found?
I enjoy a good success story. Long may Wisdom prosper.
KC
February 9, 2014
Hooray for Wisdom!! According to a story published last Friday, Wisdom, a Laysan albatross and the world's oldest bird, has become a mother again at age 63. (Read the story here.)
Wisdom first captured my attention back in 2011. I love the strange and oddball pieces of news found on the Internet because I never know what will trigger an idea for a story. True, I doubt I'll write a bird story, but you never know. It may come to pass that a character might happen to be a backyard bird watcher.
But back to Wisdom. She was first banded in 1956 as an adult bird so they do have a close approximation on her age. Layson albatross mate for life so it stands to reason she's outlived a few of her soul mates. That's sad to the romantic heart but there's a lesson there - never stop going forward.
That she's still mating and producing a viable egg every year speaks to her continued health. In this era of doom and gloom news, Wisdom is a certainly a bright spot. She's calmly leading her life, doing what she does while blissfully unaware of her growing celebrity.
Sounds like she's living up to her name.
(Here's the link to last year's blog about Wisdom.)
KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
