Two Short-tailed Albatross chicks hatch at the Mukojima translocation site

One of two Short-tailed Albatross chicks on Mukojima in January 2022; photograph from the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology

Two Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus chicks hatched on Mukojima in the Ogasawara Islands last month.  The locality is the site where 69 chicks were translocated from Torishima and hand-reared over five seasons by the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (click here).

“This is the first time that two chicks have hatched in one breeding season in Mukojima Island since the start of our project.  In addition, there is another piece of good news.  One of these The Ichicks is the first chick that belongs to the 3rd generation starting from the 69 Short-tailed Albatrosses translocated to this island from Torishima Island and fledged there.  We are nstiucelebrating the birth of a chick that is the first grandchild [sic] of the translocated birds.  This shows that the project has made another step forward towards the goal of establishing a self-sustained breeding population in Ogasawara Islands.” (from the Institute's Facebook page).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 February 2022