Letter: Albatross of ill omen

From Andy Maloney

I was surprised to discover a new, super-heavy 22-kilogram breed of albatross exists (4 October, p 10). I have worked with southern royal albatrosses, which are generally around 9 kilograms. These have a hard time taking off and landing, so I can’t imagine how the 22-kg monsters avoid crashing!

I recall a Mars probe crashing due to a mix-up between metric and imperial units. A large albatross would be about 22 pounds. The researchers aren’t ex-NASA employees, are they?

The editor writes:

• It should have been clearer that we intended to refer to the period when albatrosses are at their heaviest, which would be when a juvenile makes its first flight.

Wellington, New Zealand