Colony of Short-tailed Albatross Successfully Relocated

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment announced on November 18, 2004 that it expects to be able to successfully establish new colonies that are safe for the vulnerable short-tailed albatross. The ministry has been conducting a project to lure the bird to new breeding sites on the slopes of Hatsunezaki in Torishima Island, Tokyo. Two breeding pairs were recently observed laying eggs, in addition to an existing breeding pair in the new colonies.

The Environment Agency (now the Ministry of the Environment) has conducted a survey on the population of the short-tailed albatross in Torishima as well as a conservation project of nesting sites since 1981. Conservation and breeding projects of the bird have been ongoing since the short-tailed albatross was designated a "rare species" in 1993 under the Law for the Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. A new breeding colony plan started as a one of these projects.

The purpose of the plan is to establish a new colony on stable slopes in Hatsunezaki, on the western part of the island, as an alternative to Tsubamezaki on the southeastern part of the island, where volcanic ash is washed down the slope by rain and builds up into unstable ground. The Yamashina Institute for Ornithology has tried to lure the birds to a new site by using decoys and broadcasting recorded albatross sounds. In 1995, a breeding pair succeeded to produce a chick in Hatsunezaki for the first time, and has since then been returning for breeding every year.

Although the short-tailed albatrosses on Torishima Island was at the brink of extinction in the past, numbering only around 10 in 1951, the population continued to grow to about 500 in 1993 and to about 1,600 as of April 2004. The bird was downgraded to vulnerable (VU) species in 1998 when the ministry reviewed the Red List of endangered species.



Posted: 2005/02/23 12:18:19 PM
Japanese version