What is albatross's love story?
The bird’s 3.5-meter wingspan casts a huge shadow over the nest that has helped protect its mate for hundreds of generations. Dressed in pristine white, she gazed out over the rolling sea from her exposed balcony like a bride awaiting the renewal of her wedding vows.
Returning to the same remote island from which it fled centuries ago, a migrating albatross finds its mate among a flock of seabirds and swoops down from the sky to greet him.
The birds looked at each other and turned their heads skyward, calling to the sky to signal the start of their two-year mating ritual. They flapped their wings in the howling wind before brushing their tails with each other’s fingers and settling into the familiar comfort of home.
The next few weeks would be crucial. This loyal pair will lay a single egg together, which will eventually hatch into a beautiful chick. Parental duties are divided evenly, with one male guarding the nest from predators while the other hunts squid and crustaceans to feed the family.
Times have been tough for albatrosses in recent years. Every time a birth occurs, the challenges for our pair increase.
Marine mammals often forage for bait or discarded fish near fishing boats in the hope of an easy catch, but the methods used by these fishermen can be deadly.
Then there is plastic: a vast pile of marine pollution, which seems to cruelly mimic the food on which an albatross relies. In an emergency, a clean box can be mistaken for a fluffy squid, while tiny pieces of plastic float in the water like fish. Accidentally picking up the problem can be a fatal mistake. Albatrosses and their young are dying from eating the plastic that is polluting our oceans.
Our man is in luck today. He was greeted enthusiastically by his mate and cub upon his return from his hunt. The parents took turns looking after their little one, watching the sky darken as they were caught in the middle of an Antarctic blizzard.
Sadly, the existence of such an iconic species as the wandering albatross could be threatened by human activity. Thankfully, there are people taking responsibility for the damage caused by human negligence, fighting to save marine life from environmental degradation.
Two charities at the forefront of wildlife conservation are the RSPB and BirdLife International, founder members of the Wildlife Action Group.
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