Photo: John Klavitter/U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

A Laysan albatross named Wisdom, first identified and banded on Midway Atoll in 1956, has hatched a chick at the age of at least 70. Wisdom, who returns each fall to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, outlived most of her mates, and raised over 40 chicks. The typical albatross life span is generally estimated to be 40-50 years.

The  United States Geological Survey (USGS) has tracked Wisdom since she was first tagged, and has estimated that Wisdom has flown over 3,000,000 miles (4,800,000 km) since 1956 (approximately 120 times the circumference of the Earth). To accommodate her longevity, the USGS has replaced her tag a total of six times. She and her chick survived the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that killed an estimated 2,000 adult Laysan and black-footed albatrosses, and a much larger number of chicks, at the refuge.

🚨Cute baby alert! Wisdom's chick has hatched!!! 🐣😍

Wisdom, a mōlī (Laysan albatross) and world’s oldest known, banded wild bird is at least 70 years old. Biologists estimate she has had at least 30-36 chicks. https://t.co/cjM8X2clme

📸-Jon Brack/Friends of Midway Atoll NWR pic.twitter.com/voK0kO27ed

— USFWS Pacific Region (@USFWSPacific) February 5, 2021