Wandering albatrosses
27.01.2024
Wandering albatrosses , Daily Current Affairs , RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in Lucknow
|
For Prelims:About Wandering albatrosses,Conservation status |
Why in the news?
Wandering albatrosses are threatened with extinction and climate change could put their nesting sites at risk.
About Wandering albatrosses:
- It is the world’s largest flying bird, with a wingspan reaching an incredible 3.5 meters.
- These birds are oceanic nomads: they spend most of their 60 years of life at sea and only come to land to breed.
- These are found almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Their playground is the vast Southern Ocean— the region between the latitude of 60 degrees south and the continent of Antarctica.
- Marion Island and Prince Edward Island together support about half of the entire world’s wandering albatross breeding population.
- Habitat: They breed on several subantarctic islands, which are characterised by peat soils, tussock grass, sedges, mosses, and shrubs.
Conservation status
- IUCN: Vulnerable
- Threats: The most likely cause is longline fishing, as they become hooked and will drown, as well as the ingestion of plastics, which kills both chicks and adults.
Source: Down to earth