---
title: "Second year of the Guadalupe translocation to establish a Mexican breeding population of the Black-footed Albatross is underway"
---

# Second year of the Guadalupe translocation to establish a Mexican breeding population of the Black-footed Albatross is underway

*![Snah 7 Black footed Albatross DinA 3. penM blue J.A. Soriano GECI](https://acap.aq/images/WAD2022/Snah_7_Black-footed_Albatross_DinA_3._penM_blue_J.A._Soriano_GECI.jpg)*  
*A translocated Black-footed Albatross close to fledging gets airborne on Isla Guadalupe *in 2021*, blue pen drawing by [ABUN](https://abun4nature.org/) artist.Snah; after a  photograph (see below) by J.A. Soriano, GECI*

 Thirty-five Black-footed Albatross *Phoebastria nigripes* chicks have successfully hatched in their foster nests on [Isla Guadalupe](https://acap.aq/news/news-archive/60-2013-news-archive/1412-acap-breeding-sites-no-34-isla-guadalupe-mexico-supports-an-increasing-population-of-laysan-albatrosses-despite-predation-by-feral-cats) in Mexico.   Moved as eggs from Sand Island, [Midway Atoll](https://acap.aq/news/news-archive/60-2013-news-archive/1434-acap-breeding-site-no-36-midway-atoll-black-footed-laysan-and-short-tailed-albatrosses-within-a-world-heritage-site) in the North-western Hawaiian Islands, 36 eggs arrived on Guadalupe on 12 January this year to be raised by Laysan Albatrosses *P. immutabilis*, a species which has bred on the island since the early 1980s.  This effort follows on from a [previous translocation](https://acap.aq/latest-news/4108-snowflake-plus-26-all-the-translocated-black-footed-albatrosses-have-fledged-from-mexico-s-guadalupe-island?highlight=WyJndWFkYWx1cGUiXQ==) from which 27 translocated chicks fledged last year from Isla Guadalupe, including ‘Snowflake’, the first to depart.

 ![Guadalupe translocation map](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_footed/Guadalupe_translocation_map.jpg)  
*Transfer route, courtesy of GECI*

 With 97% of [globally Near Threatened](http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/black-footed-albatross-phoebastria-nigripes) Black-footed Albatrosses breeding on low-lying atolls in the USA’s North-western Hawaiian Islands where they are at risk to climate change, the translocation project aims to establish a new colony on the high island of Guadalupe (a Biosphere Reserve) to help ensure the long-term survival of their species.  Two NGOs, Hawaii’s Pacific Rim Conservation ([PRC](https://pacificrimconservation.org/)) and Mexico’s Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas ([GECI](https://islas.org.mx)), have coordinated efforts with the federal governments of both countries to effect the translocations.

 “When the eggs hatched, the chicks recognized Guadalupe Island as their home; after orienting themselves with the stars, they will return to the island as non-breeding adults in a period of three to five years.  Later, in five to eight years, they will return to the island to find a mate and reproduce.”

 ![Blackfooted WAD22 2](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_footed/Blackfooted_WAD22_2.jpg)

 Find more about the project in Spanish [here](https://www.gob.mx/conanp/prensa/nacen-albatros-patas-negras-en-la-reserva-de-la-biosfera-isla-guadalupe?fbclid=IwAR1T1i7doO9lJtTKtupGKclu-7LCM8BfC-QbX4JRqzehvEYw7ixThl0O5yI).  Read a [news article](https://simpleflying.com/hawaiian-airlines-bird-rescue-flight/?fbclid=IwAR15aEVlTEy8Rb_RSAbF7XkgAaAnyTD0yge4USx5DMR-xyi97uDJBgcryb0) on the transfer flight and watch a [video](https://www.facebook.com/MaLuisaAlboresG/videos/1322888458184485) (with Spanish text) on the translocation.

 *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 April 2022*