Species profile
Diomedea exulans
Wandering albatross
This is a curated published estimate, not a live census. Estimates may refer to mature individuals, wild individuals or a documented range and are not directly comparable between species.
VU · Vulnerable — Vulnerable — high risk of extinction in the wild
About this species
The wandering albatross is a long-lived ocean traveller of the Southern Hemisphere and the bird with the largest known wingspan. Its life is divided between immense journeys over open water and brief, essential returns to remote islands for breeding. Because pairs raise young slowly, the loss of even a modest number of adults can affect the population for many years.
Habitat, behaviour and ecological role
Long, narrow wings allow this albatross to use wind and wave patterns while spending little energy. It feeds mainly on squid and fish encountered at the surface and may follow vessels where food is discarded. Adults usually form durable pair bonds and produce a single egg, with a breeding cycle so demanding that successful pairs commonly skip the following year.
Why this species is at risk
Longline fisheries are the most direct widespread pressure: birds can take baited hooks, be pulled underwater and drown. Plastic ingestion, changing prey distribution and altered Southern Ocean conditions add cumulative stress. Threat intensity differs among breeding colonies and feeding grounds, so a global category should not be interpreted as identical conditions everywhere.
Conservation outlook
Effective action combines weighted lines, night setting, bird-scaring streamers and careful disposal of hooks and offal. Protecting breeding islands from introduced predators and monitoring colonies remain equally important. International cooperation is essential because a bird nesting under one jurisdiction may forage across several national waters and the high seas.
Editorial review: 2026-08-21
Threat factors
Known occurrences
Dots are georeferenced occurrence records from OBIS (marine) and GBIF (global), not individual animals and not a complete range map. Up to 500 recent API results are cached; the profile renders at most 500 points.
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Listen to this species
Kaikōura, Canterbury · 0:39 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Stories connected to this species
Editorial context connecting this profile to climate, habitat and human activity.