A 62-year-old bird produces a baby chick.
Elderly birds can evidently be spunky creatures. A Laysan Albatross dubbed, ‘Wisdom’ is supposedly the oldest living bird at age 62.
Surprisingly she produced a perfectly healthy baby chick that recently hatched. A scientist first placed a tag on ‘Wisdom’ back in 1956.
Since 2006 she has raised chicks 5 times, and it is estimated she has flown approximately 3 million miles since first being tagged.
Researchers had thought that birds become infertile later in their lives.
A representative from the US Geological Survey Bird Banding Program says “It blows us away that this is a 62-year-old bird and she keeps laying eggs and raising chicks. These birds are emblematic of the health of the ocean and the health of that ecosystem.”
Laysan Albatross birds frequent the Pacific ocean however they can also be witnessed near northern waters at various times of the year. They are low flyers and scour the waves for nourishment.
Weighing approximately 22 pounds, with a wingspan of roughly 6 feet, they reportedly sleep while flying, and only return to land to breed.
