Bryan Gates wrote concerning Short-tailed Albatross:
>The latest references that I have indicate that perhaps 200-300 individuals
>of this species remain in the world, most (all?) nesting on Torishima
>Island, south of Japan. Some of you may have recent references to bring us
>up to date on population status.

I received a letter from Hiroshi Hasegawa in Jan/Feb 1994 in which he
gave these Short-tailed Albatross population estimates:

Torishima 600-650 individuals
Senkaku Islands about 100 individuals

He estimated a population growth rate at Torishima to be 6.6% from 1950
to 1993, but 7.1% during the latter part of that period.

Diane Ackerman's account of her trip to Torishima, originally published in
the _New Yorker_ and recently reprinted in her book _The Rarest of the Rare_
is engaging and largely depressing. The slaughter of Short-tailed
Albatrosses in the late 19th century is painful to imagine.

>Remember that an albatros can cover a lot of miles in a week.
Hundreds in a day, yes.
--
Scott Richardson
NE Seattle
salix at halcyon.com