Marvelous Facts About the Wandering Albatross
☞ These birds have an average lifespan of 80 to 85 years! Truly, a close friend of human beings.
☞ Once a Wandering Albatross grow into an adult, it leaves its nest and returns to the island only after 7 to 8 years!
☞ An important aspect about their mating, is that this species of albatross mates for life. No infidelity, indeed!
☞ There are roughly 21 species of albatross, out of which 19 face the threat to extinction.
☞ The most fascinating fact about Wandering Albatrosses, is that they have a wing span of nearly 11 feet. This makes them the biggest seabird alive!
☞ Most of the lifetime of these birds is spent in the air. They can fly for thousands of miles without landing. The only time they land is for mating or for food search. They remain afloat in the air flying for hours without any stopping! Well, that is surely mystical!
☞ Their name is derived from the fact that they wander most of the time, without stopping!
☞ A Wandering Albatross is gifted with a salt gland. It is situated above its nasal passage. This gland serves the peculiar function of draining excess salt that comes in the bird's body after drinking salt water!
☞ If a Wandering Albatross survives during its first year, it mostly lives up to 50 years or more. There are very few animal species that have such a tremendous adaptability.
☞ These birds are travel freaks, or call them globe trotters. They are known as the animals who travel the most during their entire lifetime!
☞ Since ancient times, it is a commonly held belief that killing a Wandering Albatross brings bad luck. Some sailors, in the olden days, hunted these birds for using their bones for manufacturing tobacco - pipe stems. In some places, they were hunted for food.
☞ They follow ships for hours continuously, as if they are also traveling to the place where the ship is going. Certainly, silent companions of sailors, in their long and tiring journeys!
What's Killing Them...☹
Uncontrolled practice of long line fishing in areas where they are dominantly found.
Water pollution mainly due to complex chemicals in plastics.
Fishing hooks.
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