Two vulnerable short-tailed albatrosses raise five chicks as their offspring return to Midway Atoll

Some wildlife partnerships become remarkable not just because they last, but because they help bring a species back to places where it has rarely been seen. On Midway Atoll in the North Pacific, two short-tailed albatrosses named George and Geraldine have reunited for their 10th consecutive year as a pair.

The birds have successfully raised and fledged at least five chicks, and some of their offspring are now returning to the same island.According to a November 9, 2026, update from the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), wildlife officials confirmed that George and Geraldine had returned to Sand Island in late October for another breeding season. The pair first appeared together on Midway in 2016 and raised their first chick during the 2018-19 breeding season.

Their continued presence and the return of their young have raised hopes that the atoll could eventually support more breeding short-tailed albatrosses.How George and Geraldine became a pairGeorge and Geraldine are short-tailed albatrosses (Phoebastria albatrus), a species classified as Vulnerable.