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Wisdom’s 2024/25 chick. April 2025, photograph by Dan Rapp
The following edited news article written by Ann Bell for the Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge gives information on the current offspring of Wisdom, the atoll’s Layan Albatross Phoebetria immutabilis, who will be well known to regular readers of ACAP Latest News.
“Wisdom, a 74+ year old Laysan Albatross, which makes her the world's oldest known banded bird in the wild, has a banded chick and a known grand chick this year. We are sure she has more grand kids and great grand kids. However, it is happenstance when humans are able to locate her banded kin in the seemingly never-ending sea of albatross chicks on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge/Battle of Midway National Memorial.
Wisdom's Chick
Wisdom's chick is somewhat of a late bloomer this year with its hatching date being towards the end of the season. Currently, Midway Atoll is blanketed in albatross chicks sitting alone waiting for days on end for a parent to show up with food. Each parent must expend extra energy searching the surface of the high seas in order to feed themselves and bring back enough squid and floating masses of fish eggs for them to feed to their growing chick. This is the time of year when chicks seem to slowly loose or gain mass. Therefore, we are beyond hoping the best for this chick, which would make it Wisdom's youngest of approximately 35 chicks she has reared.
Wisdom's Grand Chick
Wisdom’s 2024/25 grand chick via her son N333, April 2025, photographs by Dan Rapp
Wisdom's grand chick appears to be doing well and was totally ‘working it' during its photo shoot by the family's personal photographer Dan Rapp. Wisdom's grand chick is living the life protected in a very elevated dune line created by naupaka bushes.”
ACAP Latest News will report on the two breeding attempts as information becomes available.
John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 05 May 2025