17 February 2025
In case you missed it, the world’s oldest identified banded wild fowl has turn out to be a mom once more at age 74. (She is likely to be even older than 74.)
Knowledge is a feminine Laysan albatross who was banded (pink Z333) as a breeding grownup at Halfway Atoll in 1956. Since her species can not breed till age six and normally delays breeding till age seven or eight, Knowledge is at the very least 74 years outdated now, perhaps even 77.
Knowledge breeds on the world’s largest albatross colony on Halfway Atoll within the Hawaiian Islands chain. Like all of her species she spends most of her life at sea however returns to her breeding grounds every year to rejoin her mate, lay one egg, and lift the chick.
This yr she returned as ordinary and laid her egg in late November. Then she and her mate took turns incubating for about 65 days and their egg hatched in early February. Right here’s the chick with its mother and father. (Knowledge has a pink leg band.)
If Knowledge was a human she’d be a part of the Child Boomer technology. I can not even think about being a mom at her age!
