A 40+ year-old Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross is photographed off South Africa

An Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos was photographed close to a demersal trawler at c. 34° 42'S; 18° 20'E by guide Andrew de Blocq on a Cape Town Pelagics trip out of Cape Town, South Africa on 24 February this year.  The bird was bearing a yellow colour band inscribed A50.

The albatross was originally banded as a breeding adult 34 years ago in 1982 above Transvaal Bay on Gough Island in a long-term demographic study colony operated by the FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town.  It should be at least 40 years old, given the time taken to reach the age of breeding.  The bird, identified on the island as a male, has been recorded breeding 18 times since 1982, successfully raising nine chicks over this period, most recently in 2014.

With thanks to Andrew de Blocq and Peter Ryan, FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 March 2016