(JA) Albatross colony returns from brink of extinction

[Guest guest]

Albatross colony returns from brink of extinction

 

Apr 07, 2001

Yomiuri Shimbun

 

An endangered species of seabird, once thought to be extinct, has increased

its population to more than 1,300 thanks to conservation efforts by

government agencies and a Toho University professor.

 

The number of short-tailed albatrosses has risen to more than 1,300 on

Torishima island in Tokyo as a result of half-a-century of efforts to

preserve the species.

 

" We will be able to overcome the crisis facing the species if we continue

our preservation efforts, " said Hiroshi Hasegawa, an assistant professor at

the university's science department who has been visiting the island to keep

an eye on albatrosses over the past 25 years.

 

The number of short-tailed albatross was once said to have declined to a few

dozen and the species was declared extinct by a U.S. ornithologist in 1949.

The birds were common in the North Pacific and subtropics until the 1880s.

It is estimated that about 10 million birds, once prized for their feathers,

were taken by hunters in a 50-year period.

 

It is rare for a species that comes so close to extinction to recover to

such an extent.

 

The short-tailed albatross, which measures 94 centimeters in length and has

a wingspan of 240 centimeters, is now found almost exclusively on Torishima

island.

 

The main nesting place of the bird is at the base of a cliff in the

southeastern part of the island. Hasegawa said he observed a flock of

dark-colored newborn birds about 100 meters down the cliff.

 

There are a total of 1,310 adult and newborns on the island. Combined with

those that were counted in other breeding locations such as Senkaku island,

the number of short-tailed albatross has recovered to about 1,500.

 

Hasegawa, who conducts a yearly survey on the island with the permission of

the government, said " Conservation activities, such as planting grass to

prevent mud and sand from invading (the birds' habitat), have paid off. "

 

Copyright The Yomiuri Shimbun