The USFWS said at
This species typically mates for life, but is thought to have already outlived at least three mates.
Jon Plissner, the sanctuary’s supervising wildlife biologist, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that Wisdom was one of between two and three million Laysan albatrosses that travel to Midway to breed.
He said biologists were not aware of any other birds close to her age. The oldest bird was 45 years old.
“It was truly amazing,” he said. “Wisdom seems to pique the interest of people all over the world. Every year we wait with bated breath for her return.”
He said Wisdom appears to still have the energy and instinct to raise another chick, and there is a 70 to 80 percent chance her eggs will hatch.
Albatross parents share incubation duties and also take on feeding duties once the chicks hatch.
Wisdom was first identified and tagged after laying eggs in 1956. Laysan albatrosses are not known to reproduce before the age of five.
Midway Atoll is part of the Hawaiian Islands, but is not part of the U.S. state of Hawaii and is described as an unincorporated territory of the United States.
The wildlife sanctuary is home to the largest albatross colony in the world.
