Albatross Chicks Fed Plastic Ocean Pollution by Parents

Posted on January 5, 2010  Comments (4)

photo of dead Albatross chick

See more photographs of remains of albatross chicks on the Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific.

The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, none of the plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the untouched stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.

Related: Dead Zones in the OceanVast Garbage Float in the Pacific OceanSharpshinned HawkBiodegradable Plastic Bags and Bottles2,000 Species New to Science from One Island

4 Responses to “Albatross Chicks Fed Plastic Ocean Pollution by Parents”

  1. Donald
    January 6th, 2010 @ 12:54 pm

    I feel very sad for the albatross chicks. On seeing these picture we all know how we pollute our Earth and spoiling ourselves. Its time for everyone to join hands and save the planet.

  2. Wayne
    January 30th, 2010 @ 4:31 am

    It’s just amazing how years and years of careless polluting by factory’s and your everyday person can create such havoc on other living creatures. If there was ever a cause to stand up for, protecting our wildlife and other vulnerable species is a great one to get behind. I’ve been lucky enough to see this great world of ours and i know if each person takes personal responsibility for their actions, we would live in a whole lot safer and cleaner world.

  3. Pepsi Bottles Made of Switch Grass and Other Plants » Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog
    March 16th, 2011 @ 11:15 am

    The bottle is made from switch grass, pine bark, corn husks and other materials. Ultimately, Pepsi plans to also use orange peels, oat hulls, potato scraps and other leftovers from its food business…

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