The Royal Albatross

Royal Albatross - the sky is its home.

The epitome of flight is probably best illustrated in the albatross.  An amazing bird on just so many levels, it spends more time aloft than it does on the ground and sea combined.  The royal albatross does not quite have the longest wingspan out there, but it is close at over 3 meters in length.  Fully stretched out it could cover the distance between the floor and the rim of a standard basketball net.

It takes 6 or more years for a royal albatross to mature.  Its first year is spent being looked after by its parents.  When ready to fly, the fledgling will spread its great wings and soar out to open sea; it will not touch land again for up to five years.  During that time it feeds on surface creatures, whatever they may be.  When sexually mature the albatross returns to its nesting site.  The royal albatross only breeds in a few places; numbers had been greatly reduced because of introduced pests and man's fondness for usurping the land for his own purposes.

Albatross are unique in that they have not established evasion or defensive techniques regarding predators.  Having bred in the same location, devoid of any predators, for centuries, they do not avoid creatures which would harm them, their eggs, or their young.  You would think that mice would be of no concern to an albatross, which outweighs them 1000 to 1.  Yet mice will strip a bird of its flesh without it putting up a fight or concern.  Have a look at this article, done by National Geographic.

The albatross takes a mate and remains with that individual for life.  That being said, breeding is not completely monogamous.  However, partners stick together to raise the chicks regardless of who the father is.  I guess they are more concerned about the well being of the young than about who copulated with mom.  Maybe having a "bird brain" is not such a bad thing.  A single egg is laid.  After rearing the young the couple takes a year off.  They travel the world, covering tens if not hundreds of thousands of miles in the time away.  They do not necessarily stay together.  The always return to the same place with the idea of raising a new family.

Most albatross live in the southern hemisphere where there is more ocean than land.  They also tend towards the cooler climates, so seeing one in the mid-latitudes is unlikely.  We were fortunate to see them in their natural element on New Zealand's south island.  It's the only place in the world where they nest on a mainland site.  Most are found way offshore on tiny rocky islands.  Even though they breed in such isolation, their numbers are still being reduced by our carelessness and lack of awareness.  Reading this will help you be more aware - let's care for our Earth.  It's the only planet we have.