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raggedtoad t1_j806zyz wrote

Reply to comment by PinkLemonade2 in Stella is back near Arrowsic by deltapapa1

Finding a mate would be easy if it stayed in Kamchatka where over 4,000 of these giant birds live, I'd think.

Vagrancy happens to albatross and frigate birds too, I believe. Only takes one bad storm to be blown off course.

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PinkLemonade2 t1_j80berr wrote

So 4,000 of the 5,000 globally are there? I didn't realize the number was that high of % of their overall population. Part of my thinking just before you responded led me to: "Maybe a lack of potential mates globally would have it get desperate and change traditional locations". Seems that is unlikely.

However-

I did read that the environment in Kamchatka has grown incredibly suboptimal. Wiki gives us this:

"Threats to survival include: habitat alteration, industrial pollution, and overfishing, which in turn decrease their prey source. The current population is estimated at 5,000 and decreasing. Heavy flooding, which may have been an effect of global climate change, caused almost complete nesting failure for the eagles nesting in Russian rivers due to completely hampering the ability of the parents to capture the fish essential to their nestlings' survival.Persecution of the bird in Russia continues, due to its habit of stealing furbearers from trappers"

All good reasons to head elsewhere, isn't it?

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raggedtoad t1_j80cemm wrote

Could be! Who knows? I, for one, would be more than happy to have these huge birds hanging out in Maine full time.

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