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Video: Meet Makana

Makana is a Laysan albatross from the Northwestern Hawaiian Island of Midway. She came to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in 2006, after she injured her wing and was unable to survive in the wild. Makana appears daily in a presentation that helps visitors learn about the threats that albatrosses and other seabirds face from plastics pollution.

Makana means "gift" in Hawaiian and this special bird inspires us to remember to "reduce, reuse and recycle" so we can help all ocean wildlife like Makana.

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A Deadly Diet

This tube contains pieces of plastic that were found inside the stomach of a dead Laysan albatross—everyday things like a toothbrush and bottle caps that end up in the ocean where they’re eaten by seabirds.

Explore the tube’s contents

Birds at Risk

There are 22 species of albatross in the world, and 19 of them are considered at risk of extinction.

The Laysan albatross is one of three albatross species that live in the Northern Hemisphere, and marine pollution, like plastic, is one of the biggest threats these birds face.

The chicks are particularly vulnerable. Since albatrosses lay only one egg each year, or sometimes every other year, a high rate of chick mortality puts the Laysan albatross population at great risk.

Learn more

Celebrating 25 Years of Ocean Conservation