Threatened with Extinction, the Short-beaked Albatross Population Reaches 11 Thousand Tails

Short-tailed albatross. (Wikimedia Commons/NOAA)

JAKARTA - Threatened with extinction, the population of short-beaked albatrosses on a remote island in Japan has surpassed 11,000 for the first time since a small number of the seabirds were rediscovered there 75 years ago, according to a Japanese research institute.

The Yamashina Ornithological Institute said a breeding survey conducted in February and March found 11,067 birds, which were considered extinct until 1951, on Torishima Island, a volcanic island in the Izu Islands in the Pacific, Kyodo News reported (25/6).

The number represents an increase of up to 12 percent from the number of birds the previous year. Researchers also confirmed 1,591 chicks.

The short-tailed albatross, which is listed as a vulnerable species by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, was heavily hunted for its feathers from the 1890s to the 1900s. The species is believed to have become extinct after a survey in 1949, but about 10 birds were found on Torishima in 1951.

With volcanic activity on the uninhabited island threatening the bird breeding environment, securing a more stable location remains a priority.

Efforts have been made since the 2000s to establish another breeding colony on Mukojima Island in the Ogasawara Islands, where the species is known to have bred in the past.

A small number of albatrosses were also confirmed on the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in 1971, although recent studies suggest that the birds there may be a different species.