you think that’s fighting the biggest
page in the world would be quite
that is the biggest bird on the planet
each one of those wings is as wide as I
am told wandering albatross is wingspan
is over 11 feet wide I mean just imagine
living life like that you know flying
thousands and thousands of miles all by
yourself I mean that said some of them
are coming back to land to breed at the
moment and that’s when they reveal a
totally different side of their
personalities how is it possible that
life can come back from the dead the
island of South Georgia was the scene of
one of the worst wildlife massacres in
species driven to near extinction the
whaling stations were abandoned this is
an all inspiring story of how if given
the chance Nature can bounce back on a
scale you’re not going to believe
my name’s Bertie Gregory and I’m a
National Geographic wildlife filmmaker
this is Resurrection Island this face is
so much light drastic Park I kind of
feel like we’re going to get picked off
by the Velociraptor at any moment the
only difference is the velociraptors are
a lot fatter a bit more grumpy and they
[Music]
I wonder a reach for nothing
this guy up here is filled with Honduras
and they’re just so home in the window
everything here is huge
the birds are huge the oceans here the
mountains are huge the wind is huge
Eric’s filming really difficult whilst
massive wind speeds would deter most
from coming anywhere near Bird Island
it’s exactly why these birds are here
they need the wind to thrive it gives
them the boost to get their giant bodies
oh it’s like seeing on the end of a
for as graceful as these birds are in
the air their terrestrial landings well
this is the recent that they’ve come all
the way back to land some of the adults
coming back they’re coming back to find
their mate that they’ve been with for
decades these guys haven’t read before
they’re first-time readers so they’re
kind of on a first date and for that
reason they’ve got to do a bit of
showing off they’ve got to make a good
and a round ten years of age young males
reach sexual maturity they’ll then take
a stand on a nest and start trying to
attract a mate and they mate for life
surf an albatross can live 60 years they
don’t want to just waste it on anyone
after all it’s a relationship that lasts
longer than most human marriages the
wandering albatross Court has so many
different layers to it and you can see
there’s a lot of posturing moving back
and forth
she got their wings out it’s a bit of
bill fencing where the Tattler bill
figure he’s vibrating is being that we
alien eyes
and the other thing is doing is sky
calling buddy point is head straight
into the sky makes that amazing
screaming noise
I love it when timing works out
[Music]
[Applause]
once a pair start getting into it more
and more try to join the party this is
one of the most elaborate courtship
rituals in the animal kingdom
[Applause]
after what could be years of courting
the Albatross mates are finally ready to
starting a family
once the bond is formed they’ll soon
learn to rely on each other for the rest
of their lives you know it’s so easy to
get the wrong idea with these guys you
know when you see them flying out over
the open ocean you think that they’re
just these lone Ranger’s for there’s so
they form this amazing long-term bond
their relationships all about their
dedication partnership since they only
lay one egg every two years they put a
huge amount of time and resources into
raising just a single chick and they
divvy up the chores like building and
maintaining their nest then once the
female has laid the egg the pair will
take turns incubating while the other
heads out to sea for some lunch say as
far as Brazil that’s a 5,000 mile
round-trip which they do in just two
weeks now the key to traveling all that
distance is the way that it flies it
does this amazing zigzagging pan what
it’s doing is its turning up into wind
its gaining gravitational potential
energy gains altitude when it reaches
the peak it then turns in the direction
that it wants to travel and gains
kinetic energy it turns that potential
energy into forwards momentum and then
just as it’s about to run out of height
and click the surface of the water it
turns back up into the wind and gains
all that altitude again and it just does
that over and over again so can fly
miles and miles and miles
although this technique of dynamic
soaring is the very thing that makes
albatrosses the most well traveled birds
in the world it also brings them into
dangerous waters where commercial
fisheries practice unsafe longline
fishing methods albatross see the bait
they dive on it and swallow the hook and
today that populations are in peril but
there is hope and that’s because with a
few simple changes in fishing practices
we can avoid the albatross getting
killed by these hooks and that’s been
done with great success around here the
island of South Georgia where the
bycatch has been reduced to pretty much
zero whilst this local success is great
news
their ability to wander means that only
with international cooperation can we
ensure the future of the wandering albatross
page in the world would be quite
that is the biggest bird on the planet
each one of those wings is as wide as I
am told wandering albatross is wingspan
is over 11 feet wide I mean just imagine
living life like that you know flying
thousands and thousands of miles all by
yourself I mean that said some of them
are coming back to land to breed at the
moment and that’s when they reveal a
totally different side of their
personalities how is it possible that
life can come back from the dead the
island of South Georgia was the scene of
one of the worst wildlife massacres in
species driven to near extinction the
whaling stations were abandoned this is
an all inspiring story of how if given
the chance Nature can bounce back on a
scale you’re not going to believe
my name’s Bertie Gregory and I’m a
National Geographic wildlife filmmaker
this is Resurrection Island this face is
so much light drastic Park I kind of
feel like we’re going to get picked off
by the Velociraptor at any moment the
only difference is the velociraptors are
a lot fatter a bit more grumpy and they
[Music]
I wonder a reach for nothing
this guy up here is filled with Honduras
and they’re just so home in the window
everything here is huge
the birds are huge the oceans here the
mountains are huge the wind is huge
Eric’s filming really difficult whilst
massive wind speeds would deter most
from coming anywhere near Bird Island
it’s exactly why these birds are here
they need the wind to thrive it gives
them the boost to get their giant bodies
oh it’s like seeing on the end of a
for as graceful as these birds are in
the air their terrestrial landings well
this is the recent that they’ve come all
the way back to land some of the adults
coming back they’re coming back to find
their mate that they’ve been with for
decades these guys haven’t read before
they’re first-time readers so they’re
kind of on a first date and for that
reason they’ve got to do a bit of
showing off they’ve got to make a good
and a round ten years of age young males
reach sexual maturity they’ll then take
a stand on a nest and start trying to
attract a mate and they mate for life
surf an albatross can live 60 years they
don’t want to just waste it on anyone
after all it’s a relationship that lasts
longer than most human marriages the
wandering albatross Court has so many
different layers to it and you can see
there’s a lot of posturing moving back
and forth
she got their wings out it’s a bit of
bill fencing where the Tattler bill
figure he’s vibrating is being that we
alien eyes
and the other thing is doing is sky
calling buddy point is head straight
into the sky makes that amazing
screaming noise
I love it when timing works out
[Music]
[Applause]
once a pair start getting into it more
and more try to join the party this is
one of the most elaborate courtship
rituals in the animal kingdom
[Applause]
after what could be years of courting
the Albatross mates are finally ready to
starting a family
once the bond is formed they’ll soon
learn to rely on each other for the rest
of their lives you know it’s so easy to
get the wrong idea with these guys you
know when you see them flying out over
the open ocean you think that they’re
just these lone Ranger’s for there’s so
they form this amazing long-term bond
their relationships all about their
dedication partnership since they only
lay one egg every two years they put a
huge amount of time and resources into
raising just a single chick and they
divvy up the chores like building and
maintaining their nest then once the
female has laid the egg the pair will
take turns incubating while the other
heads out to sea for some lunch say as
far as Brazil that’s a 5,000 mile
round-trip which they do in just two
weeks now the key to traveling all that
distance is the way that it flies it
does this amazing zigzagging pan what
it’s doing is its turning up into wind
its gaining gravitational potential
energy gains altitude when it reaches
the peak it then turns in the direction
that it wants to travel and gains
kinetic energy it turns that potential
energy into forwards momentum and then
just as it’s about to run out of height
and click the surface of the water it
turns back up into the wind and gains
all that altitude again and it just does
that over and over again so can fly
miles and miles and miles
although this technique of dynamic
soaring is the very thing that makes
albatrosses the most well traveled birds
in the world it also brings them into
dangerous waters where commercial
fisheries practice unsafe longline
fishing methods albatross see the bait
they dive on it and swallow the hook and
today that populations are in peril but
there is hope and that’s because with a
few simple changes in fishing practices
we can avoid the albatross getting
killed by these hooks and that’s been
done with great success around here the
island of South Georgia where the
bycatch has been reduced to pretty much
zero whilst this local success is great
news
their ability to wander means that only
with international cooperation can we
ensure the future of the wandering albatross
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