Short-tailed albatrosses used to proliferate in the Ogasawara Islands, particularly Torishima, and the Senkaku Islands, but over the years some 5 million of the birds were slaughtered for their down. There were fears that the species would become extinct, but that danger has effectively been avoided thanks to protective measures. In 1962, Japan designated and protected the short-tailed albatross as a Special Natural Monument. (Illustration by Izuka Tsuyoshi)
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