The impact of the quake upon Japan has been amazing. It was a relief to know that Hawaii was impacted very little. And, California had a few local areas with quite a bit of damage. But, what I did not see were the effects on other locations in the Pacific, until today.
The March 11, 2011 tsunami took just 5 hours to travel the 2400 miles to Midway Atoll. There, it dealt a devastating blow to the island wildlife.
These islands are home to 21 species of seabirds, over three million birds in total. At the time of the tsunami, four species were nesting on the islands. There were 482,909 pairs of Laysan albatross, 28,581 pairs of black-footed albatross, and 1 pair of the endangered short-tailed albatross. There were also nesting Bonin petrels but because they nest in burrows in the sand, it was hard to determine their numbers.
Four successive waves about 5 feet high washed over the reefs and nesting areas. Storms in January and February also devastated the bird populations. The storms and tsunami killed 22% of all albatross chicks hatched this year.
A preliminary survey of the other Midway Atoll animal residents, such as the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, threatened Hawaiian green turtle, and various endangered Laysan duck species, indicated that they survived the tsunami.
No human life was lost on the islands. Assuming no further disasters, the albatross population will likely recover in time. Pictures of the devastation show many birds in their struggles to survive.
There was a very interesting positive story here.
In recent weeks – before the earthquake – the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge had been in the news because of two significant developments in the albatross colony. It is home to the oldest known wild bird in the US, a Laysan albatross named Wisdom, who surprised many people by becoming a mother at about 60 years of age. There was also the first-ever documented nesting of a rare bird species, a pair of short-tailed albatrosses breeding outside of their native habitat in Japan; and they even produced a chick.
The short-tailed albatross chick survived the tsunami, but had been washed away about 100 feet from its nest. It was found by biologists and returned to its original location. However, the chick’s parents have not been seen since the tsunami; if they do not show up, the refuge will have to decide if it’s feasible to hand-rear the chick.