Email or username:

Password:

Forgot your password?
Ian Rose

One of my favorite things to see come across my screens each year: the US Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that Wisdom has returned to her mating grounds on Midway Atoll.

Wisdom is at least 71 years old, the oldest verified wild bird of any species. She has raised more than 30 chicks. She has flown the circumference of the Earth over 120 times. She is the closest the seabird world gets to a celebrity, and the only royalty I recognize. Long live the Queen.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom

23 comments
DavidB

@ianrosewrites@scicomm.xyz I didn't know about her. Thanks. This is awesome.

SaanichGuy 🇨🇦🇨🇦

@ianrosewrites just amazing. Didn’t know birds could have such longevity

Carl

@SaanichGuy Check out parrots! They get pretty old, too!
And bats! (OK I am cheating, bats are flying animals, but not really birds...)
.
.
.
.
(although, if I recall correctly, bats have the biggest penisses relative to body size of any animal)

okokokokok, I'll stop now
@ianrosewrites

westerling

@ianrosewrites

Thanks for sharing this excellent news. I am always happy to hear it.

Carolyn

@ianrosewrites Wow. "Between 2005 and 2014, Wisdom laid eight eggs.[8] She and her chick survived the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that killed an estimated 2,000 adult Laysan and black-footed albatrosses and an estimated 110,000 chicks at the Refuge.[9][10]"

Joan Westenberg

@ianrosewrites Holy crap! That's incredible. I hate no idea birds lived that long...

Rob van Kan

@ianrosewrites Maybe there is another explanation:

"It's your turn now, grandma would've wanted you to have her ring"

Ian Rose

Proof of Wisdom's return this year, since a few people have asked (on the USFWS official Instagram): instagram.com/p/C0fFVzmrI9j/?i

DELETED

@ianrosewrites

Over 71! I mean, just wow! And a determined survivor judging by her bio.

David G. Smith

@ianrosewrites @earthchild Many thanks for sharing. 👍

Makes me think it would sure be nice if *actual* wisdom would encircle the earth even once. (*sigh*)

Flock of Bats 🦇 🦇 🦇 🎃

@ianrosewrites

“She and her chick survived the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that killed an estimated 2,000 adult Laysan and black-footed albatrosses and an estimated 110,000 chicks at the Refuge.” 😳

Go Up