This Plan to Save a Rare Albatross From Extinction Just Might Work

New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, a rocky archipelago, include Te Tara Koi Koia (the Pyramid), which is the only breeding ground of the vulnerable Chatham albatross. Some 5,000 breeding pairs nest there each year. During April and July, most fly 6,000 miles to the southwest coast of South America, following the current north to Peru.

To bolster the population of the birds, the Chatham Islands Taiko Trust has ferried 300 Chatham albatross chicks to apredator-proof enclosure on the main island. This video chronicles the harrowing adventure through the eyes of author and novelist Jonathan Franzen, photographer Thomas Peschak, and Mike Bell of the Chatham Islands Translocation Project.