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Save the Albatross
You'd
think the albatross would be safe, wouldn't you? It's a big
seabird, living its own life soaring over the ocean, not getting
in anyone's way. It isn't known for being edible, and it's very
bad luck to shoot it down. 
The
albatross is thought of well, appearing in culture as souls of
sailors lost at sea, a symbolic icon in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's
Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a term in golf, a song by Fleetwood
Mac, and a sketch by John Cleese. Ideally, you want the albatross
to be up in the sky rather than round your neck. So, what's the
problem?
Apparently the problem is that the albatross gets caught by accident. Some types of fishing practice ensnare the bird without meaning to. Bird conservationists the RSPB would like to put a stop to that by encouraging better fishing practices which avoid catching the albatross.
If you'd like to help the RSPB to save the albatross, there's a page about it coming up at the end of this explanatory page. Or you can go directly to see the RSPB campaign to Save the Albatross
"A
large-scale awareness campaign by the RSPB is currently (2006)
underway in London, focusing on the plight of the endangered
albatross. Over 100,000 
albatrosses are
killed each year, which amounts to 1 dying every 5 minutes, but
there are practical and easy ways to prevent their deaths.
The RSPB help set up an Albatross Task Force, to work face-to-face
with fishermen at sea and on land. We're also are urging
fisheries managers and their governing bodies to take practical
steps to protect endangered seabirds. Campaigning is
underway for more countries to sign the Agreement on the
Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels".
The 'Save the Albatross' campaign urges you to join and help this endangered species. Adverts will be featured in The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, AOL, MSN, Radio Times, and on the London Underground.
RSPB: "Longline fishing kills 100,000 albatrosses each year - that's about 1 every five minutes. 19 out of 21 species are threatened with extinction. Due to their low reproductive rate* they are dying faster than they can re-populate. We have set up an Albatross Task Force in partnership with BirdLife, to work face-to-face with fishermen at sea and on land. We are urging fisheries managers and their governing bodies to take practical steps to protect endangered seabirds. We are campaigning for more countries to sign the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels".
If you would like to help, here's the link:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/jointoday/albatross.asp?source=M05ITH0025 , a campaign run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, affiliate program is with Affiliate Future
* The low reproductive rate of the albatross is because a pair of albatrosses mate for life and only produce one chick every few years. This isn't usually a problem as albatrosses have no natural predators and with a bit of luck will live a long life. It's only recently that their survival has been put in jeopardy.
Those pictures of albatrosses (c) RSPB
This page is abut the bird, which is endangered, and isn't to do with being 3 under-par at Golf