
Laysan albatross live as long as many humans do. Its life span is up to 68 years, according to the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
One such seabird has amazed scientists as it is still alive at the age of 74, the US Fish & Wildlife Service said in a Facebook post early this month.
The bird named Wisdom lives in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (MANWR) at the northwestern edge of Hawaii. Aside from its longevity, Wisdom was found to have laid an egg.
Experts said the egg was her first in the past four years and her 60th overall, Associated Press reports, citing the MANWR.
Meanwhile, John Mark Valdez of Mati, Davao Oriental has fooled many people about his age.
Thinking that the four-foot-tall man was a minor, some locals were surprised to see him driving a pickup truck loaded with construction materials.
As shown in a recent episode of KMJS, Valdez’s head was barely visible through the windshield of the truck and his feet could not reach the gas, clutch and brake pedals. He had to lower himself from the seat to step on the pedals.
The local Department of Social Welfare and Development office provided his family with canned goods and sacks of rice and offered him a scholarship and job assistance.
When he rode a motorcycle on the highway, patrolmen flagged him down, mistaking him for a minor because he also did not have a driver’s license or motorcycle registration.
His age and height should not be a hindrance to getting a license for the 19-year-old Valdez. His having no money for it is though.
Upon learning that Valdez was not a minor but a freshman taking up Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness, who has the condition called dwarfism that stunted his growth, was left by his mother to the care of his grandparents, and is working as a househelp to support himself, his step siblings and grandmother, there has been an outpouring of support for him.
A Land Transportation Office (LTO) official told KMJS they will help Valdez get a driver’s license and register his motorcycle.
The local Department of Social Welfare and Development office provided his family with canned goods and sacks of rice and offered him a scholarship and job assistance.
Valdez has heeded the LTO’s advice not to drive a truck anymore for his and others’ safety.