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UPDATE BBR 2005 - COURTESY OF THE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION “…and sank like lead into the sea”
Albatrosses Feared Dead in World’s Toughest Endurance Race The Rime of the Ancient Mariner describes the harsh reality of the Southern Ocean. After just over a month of battling for survival, all of the 17 celebrity-backed juvenile Tasmanian Shy Albatrosses in the 2005 Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race are thought to have succumbed to unprecedented poor fishing conditions, in their bid to migrate across the Southern Ocean. The birds have been closely monitored since April 27th by the Big Bird Race scientific team, with the aid of tiny satellite transmitters which are humanely attached to a tuft of feathers between their wings. People around the world have also been able to track their migratory patterns at www.ladbrokes.com/bigbirdrace, as the birds began what should have been a 6,000-mile migration from Tasmania to South Africa. Instead, all 17 birds have perished – two failing to leave the islands where they were hatched, and 15 having died at sea. The race was funded by Ladbrokes.com, which offered betting on the race to raise awareness of the issue of birdlife conservation. As a result of the early end to the race, betting has now ceased – with the RSPB bird Avocet the default victor, having made the furthest progress towards South Africa. All income generated from betting on the race will be donated to BirdLife International’s ‘Save the Albatross Fund’. At this stage, the exact cause of death of the birds is unknown – with the only currently plausible explanation being poor fishing conditions. Little Penguins are having a catastrophic breeding season in both Tasmania and Victoria, and Gannets in Tasmania have fledged very few chicks this year. Such levels of albatross mortality have never been scientifically recorded before as the Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race has been the formal studies on migrating juvenile Albatrosses. These findings, whilst tragic, are therefore of inestimable conservation importance. Of this year’s runners, including birds owned by Michael Parkinson, Olivia Newton-John and Ellen MacArthur; Avocet, owned by the RSPB, had been the race leader for the last couple of weeks, closely followed by Johnny Vegas’ appropriately named ‘Eighteen Stone of Idiot’. Both appeared strong as they travelled westwards towards the Indian Ocean, but unfortunately tragedy has struck, as it did with other birds earlier in the migration. The news of the deaths represents bad news indeed for Tasmanian Shy Albatrosses, as the few surviving birds in this year’s migration will still face the risk of poorly managed longline fishing – currently responsible for the slaughter of 300,000 seabirds each year, which has left 19 of the world’s 23 species of Albatross in critical danger of extinction. Tim Nevard, The Instigator and Project Director of the Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race commented: “We are witnessing a real environmental disaster occurring in the Southern Ocean this year, the evidence being revealed by the data gathered by the Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race being truly tragic. Mother Nature has been the harshest of judges – underlining, if ever one needed to, the absolute urgency in curtailing the catastrophic additional effects of longlining in order to allow enough birds to survive to reach breeding age.” John O’Reilly, Managing Director of Ladbrokes eGaming commented: “The early end of the big bird race underlines the fragile position of Albatrosses the world over. We are glad to have contributed to increased understanding of the risks, both natural and man-made, to Albatrosses in their struggle for survival in the face of increasingly hostile global conditions. Customers who have backed Avocet will be paid out, but we’re also offering them the opportunity to donate their winnings, along with ours, to seabird conservation.” This year’s runners included:
THE SOUTHERN OCEAN PROVES THE HARSHEST OF JUDGES
Whilst the RSPB’s Albatross moves into the lead, many young birds are feared
dead in World’s Toughest Endurance Race
Early research findings are revealing unprecedented natural mortality amongst juvenile Tasmanian Shy Albatrosses in 2005. Just one month into the Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race, satellite tracking is showing that this year may be one of the worst for seabirds in the Southern Ocean for decades. Out of the 17 healthy birds which started this year’s race, only 5 are currently known to have survived after around a month of flying from their nests for the first time. In addition to those birds dying from natural causes, every year 300,000 additional seabirds are estimated to die unnecessarily from longlining, leaving 19 of the world’s 23 species of Albatross in critical danger of extinction. The Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race is run annually to highlight this globally important issue. The birds are being closely monitored through the use of tiny satellite transmitters which are humanely attached to a tuft of feathers between their wings, enabling people around the world to track their migration by visiting www.ladbrokes.com/bigbirdrace, as the birds fly the 6,000 miles from Tasmania to South Africa. Five birds remain in the running for HRH the Duke of Edinburgh’s Challenge Cup, of these, the RSPB’s bird, Avocet, is currently in the lead, off the Western Australian town of Esperence. Avocet is battling it out with the appropriately named Eighteen Stone of Idiot, owned by Johnny Vegas. Also making good progress is Marco Pierre White’s, White Mirabelle. Neither Emu, owned by Birds Australia, or Steve Davis’ Romford Slim have yet left their respective islands. At present the race leader is constantly changing and it looks set to be a fascinating few weeks ahead.
On behalf of the project team, Tim Nevard, the instigator and project director of the Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race says: “This year has seen extremely poor survival rates for many species of seabirds in Tasmania. Juvenile Tasmanian Shy Albatrosses are left by their parents to subsist on their fat reserves whilst they learn to forage for themselves. If they fail to learn quickly, nature is the harshest of judges – underlining if ever it needed to be, the absolute urgency to regulate longlining, and allow enough birds to survive to reach breeding age.” The following birds are presumed to have died of natural causes:
The outcome of the Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race will be announced on or before 4th August with the winning bird being the first to reach or closest to South Africa on this date. From now until August, the seventeen owners, and punters can see the birds make the arduous trip across the Southern Seas by logging on to www.ladbrokes.com/bigbirdrace , with the winning 'owner' receiving HRH the Duke of Edinburgh’s Challenge Cup from the Prince later in the year.
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August - adults begin their courtship on their breeding islands www.bigbirdrace.org is an educational website for under 18s which will enable students and pupils to follow this unique conservation project on line.
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