Why we’re celebrating the first ever World Albatross Day

You may have seen a lot of environmental “days” in the media, dedicated to raising awareness of important issues both broad and specific: World Environment Day, World Oceans Day, and even World Curlew Day. But there has never before been a World Albatross Day. So why, in 2020, are we promoting a day dedicated to this particular group of birds?

 

Bird lovers and conservationists may already know the amazing life story of the albatross, and why they need our help so desperately. But we think this issue is too big to stay within the realm of the environmental sector. World Albatross Day, launched by ACAP and supported by the conservation community, is the perfect opportunity to spread our message to the wider public – some of whom may not know much about albatrosses at all.

 

So, what do most people already know about these majestic seabirds? Some people may simply consider them particularly large seagulls. Some people may even have negative associations, thanks to the albatross being a source of bad luck in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In fact, an “albatross” is a common English idiom for a burden that follows someone their whole life. Before the poem became popular, however, albatrosses used to be considered good luck, showing just how effective the power of popular media can be.

 

Others may be aware of their incredible size and world-class endurance. The Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans (Vulnerable) has the largest known wingspan of any bird – a whopping 3.5 metres. Albatrosses can cover 16,000 kilometres in a single foraging trip. But these statistics only scratch the surface of the lives of these incredible birds.

 

What popular culture doesn’t tell us is that albatrosses are a long-lived, extremely devoted parents. They usually mate for life, finding one partner and returning to them year after year, interspersed by long stretches wandering alone at sea. They can live more than 60 years, and many don’t breed until they are ten years old. When courting, they perform breath-taking mating dances that they may have practiced for years to perfect. These dances differ between species: Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis (Near Threatened) bob up and down in perfect synchrony, emitting an unearthly whistle. The Wandering Albatross spreads its prodigious wings, raises its head to the heavens and screams at the top of its lungs: an activity known as “skycalling”.