This past July, Europe’s only albatross returned to Yorkshire, England. Nicknamed Albie, this particular albatross bird is said to have lived in the northern hemisphere since 2014. It is so famous that Albie’s annual flight is known to scientists, zoologists and legends tracking information. However, the reason why Albie is famous is not happy at all: this is the “loneliest” albatross in the world.
Lonely seagull
Albert, also known as Albie, belongs to the genus of albatrosses (Albatross), the largest and most common bird in the Seagull family. Albie also has no physical characteristics that are different from millions of her own species. Yet it is known for its puzzling existence: Albie lives in Europe.
Albie is a dark brown albatross, now about 10 years old and medium-sized with a wingspan of 200-240 cm. Its sex is still undetermined, although it has been given a rather masculine name by humans.
The great albatross, or any type of albatross, is never found in Europe in particular and the northern hemisphere in general. Seagulls are sea birds and can only live in the southern hemisphere. The great albatross mainly lives in the waters of the South Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean. But for some unknown reason, Albie appeared in the middle of Europe, on the mainland, in the northern hemisphere and has remained here for many years.
It is thought that Albie was blown away by the strong equatorial winds and could no longer return to her habitat because of the distance. No matter how many years it flies, Albie cannot return to the sea. It’s unlikely she’ll make it home because the equatorial winds are fairly light, and the chances of encountering a wind so strong that it could “blow” Albie to the southern hemisphere are slim.
Albie’s hometown may be in the Falklands and South Georgia
Seagulls are known to be faithful and monogamous, meaning that pairs of birds will mate for life and can sometimes stay together for up to 70 years of their lives. For Albie, as the only albatross bird in Europe, the result is that Albie will forever be unable to find a mate or even any friends in her life.
A journey watched by the whole world
The albatross Albie was regularly sighted at the RSPB’s Bempton Cliff nature reserve last summer and is now back after a stint in the vicinity. Since being accidentally discovered by scientists in 2014, Albie has always been closely watched.
Albie the albatross will live forever without any kind again
Although it is free to live in the wild, but because it is the only albatross in Europe, Albie’s trace is still very easy to detect. Tracking Albie’s journey has also become a hobby of many people who like to study birds in particular and animals in general.
There are even celebrities who visited Albie when it was discovered that permanently living in the Bempton Cliff nature reserve such as writer Bill Oddie, actor Samuel West, .. Albie is a factor “attraction” of this reserve. People want to go to Bempton Cliff just to find “the loneliest seagull in the world” spreading its wings in the sky.
Albie’s lonely journey is quite fixed. In addition to living regularly in Bempton Cliff. In winter, it is found near the North Sea in Germany and in northern Europe.
Albie keeps her lonely journey every year
The Bempton Cliffs RSPB Nature Reserve is home to half a million species of seabirds. Albie is still occasionally seen “companion” with platypuses, razor birds, and even penguins, … but no one is of its kind and can really accompany Albie. Even so, Albie was still alone, free, and proud in the sky, continuing her solo journey forever.
Source: Independent, The Guardian
Source: Vietnam Insider