Long-Lived Albatross is Among World’s Oldest Mothers

The albatros–or albatross, as the Americans spell it– is one of the largest and longest-lived of the sea birds. They fly over the Pacific Ocean, spending much of their lives in the air. They float on the ocean’s surface or dive to dine on fish, squid and krill. They drink the salty ocean water.

Unfortunately, they also eat pieces of the plastic that litters the ocean, mistaking it for food and even bringing it back to feed their chicks.

Scientists who study the birds still seem to disagree about the number of species of these birds, categorizing them into 13-24 different species.

A female of the Laysan species was first banded in the 1950s, so she is estimated to be over 60 years of age and is one of the oldest known living birds in the world. Because of her age, she was named Wisdom. She was still hatching chicks, the latest one in 2011, so she is also one of the oldest mothers in the world.

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