Wisdom, the septuagenarian Laysan Albatross, is not breeding this season

Wisdom (Z333, right) with her current mate red EX25 in November 2025, photograph by Dan Rapp

US Fish & Wildlife Service staff based on Midway Atoll have confirmed that Wisdom, the world’s oldest known Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis, now in her mid-seventies, did not lay an egg in the 2025/26 breeding season,  The septuagenarian has been visiting the atoll intermittently during the current season, including a visit in late December, and has met up with her most recent mate, colour banded red EX25 (click here).

“It’s important to note that Laysan albatrosses commonly skip breeding every 2–3 years, so this pause is a normal part of their life history—not a sign that Wisdom’s remarkable parenting story has come to an end” (information from the Facebook page of the Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge).

Read more about Wisdom in numerous articles posted to ACAP Latest News over the last decade or so.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 09 January 2026