Black-footed Albatross chick and Short-tailed Albatross Chick Survive Tsunami

Black-footed albatross chick and short-tailed albatross chick next to short-tailed albatross decoy on Eastern Island. A tsunami generated by a powerful earthquake off the coast of Japan struck the refuge at 11:36 PM on Thursday, March 10th and continued for the next few hours. On March 15, FWS released an official announcement stating that surveys of the three islands reveal that more than 110,000 albatross chicks – about 22% of this year’s albatross production – were lost as a result of the tsunami and two severe winter storms that hit in January and February. At least 2,000 adults also died. These two chicks were lucky to survive.