Only a few species of Albatross have been recorded, and by even fewer marine birdwatchers, in the warm waters of the tropical Indian Ocean off Tanzania. Yet many of these wonderful creatures are almost certainly present during the South East Monsoon season that coincides with the late austral winter between July and October.For how much longer?
One hundred thousand albatrosses die every year on longline fishing hooks in the southern oceans - that's about one every five minutes!
You don't need a good imagination, or to be good at maths to realise that your children are unlikely ever to see one alive. Who can recount the last days of the once abundant Passenger Pigeon, or of that Indian Ocean island isolate the Dodo, two hundred years ago? In a hundred years will there be anyone around who knows of the fate of the albatross or of the Black Rhino, the African Hunting Dog and the ... ?
Visit the Birdlife International website to see what's happening in the southern oceans and, even more important, what you might do to help turn the tide.
