SENEY, Mich. (WJMN) — Two yrs soon after the two oldest documented loons on the planet finished their 25-yr partnership, the pair have returned to individual ponds in the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in the Higher Peninsula.
Male loon ABJ, born in 1987, is at least a single 12 months the junior of his the moment-longtime husband or wife Fe (pronounced Fay). The pair separated in 2022, when wildlife specialists at the Seney refuge say Fe hatched a 40th chick with a new mate while ABJ spent the summertime solo on a different pond.
Appreciate story: Two of world’s oldest loons, longtime mates, return to Seney Countrywide Wildlife Refuge
Observers saw hope for a rekindling of their connection last 12 months when ABJ and Fe reunited briefly on F Pool, wherever they experienced expended a great deal of their time with each other. Nevertheless, Fe was noticed with an additional mate back on I Pool later that calendar year and ABJ was viewed with a broken beak that specialists say very likely happened throughout a battle with another male.
Although the circumstance ordinarily spells solitude for an outdated loon, ABJ proved to be an exception. He relocated to a different area, E West, wherever he was found with a further mate named Daisy, who is less than 50 percent his age.
This calendar year, each ABJ and Fe returned to the territories they occupied past 12 months, signaling poor odds for anybody hoping for them to reunite.
Meanwhile, Seney refuge specialists report that ABJ’s broken mandible now appears to be fully recovered.