Wisdom, the oldest banded bird in the wild is featured on an aloha shirt just in time for Christmas! Created by artist and conservation mission-driven company manager David Shepard, 10% of the proceeds from each purchase will support the world's largest albatross colony nesting on Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll)!
THE STORY BEHIND THE HAND-DRAWN DESIGN
Mōlī (Laysan albatross) spend much of their life soaring thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean. Every winter, they converge on Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) to court, dance and give birth to the next generation. Commandeering almost every patch of habitable space for nine months, they form the largest albatross colony in the world. Sitting among them on her nest is Wisdom–banded in 1956, she is the world’s oldest known banded bird in the wild.
Special to the Hawaiian islands, their brilliant white feathers collected from naturally deceased Mōlī on Kuaihelani, adorn kāhili (royal standards) in ‘Iolani Palace and Queen Emma’s Summer Palace in Hawai‘i.
Efforts to mālama ‘āina (to care for and honor the land) are endless but critical to ensure that native species–seabirds, seals, turtles, plants–can thrive. Next year we will see an extensive undertaking to eradicate introduced mice that can maim, and ultimately kill adult Mōlī. Your purchase will directly support conservation efforts on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge through its official non-profit, the Friends of Midway Atoll.
– David Shepard