There are 21 recognized species of albatross es, large water birds native to the coast of the Southern and North Pacific Oceans. Of these 21 species, 19 are recognized as extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Due to practices such as feather harvesting, albatrosses are declining in numbers, with other factors, such as the introduction of rats and feral cats into the birds’ native habitats, also contributing to their demise. Other factors that are wreaking havoc on the number of living albatrosses is pollution in their natural habitats and overfishing, leading to a decline in the birds’ food source. This overfishing has another negative effect on the bird population as the birds are often attracted to the bait, and find themselves drowning after being caught on the hooks. Many organizations are working on methods to decrease the number of birds lost to over-fishing, in the hopes that the birds can recover their numbers and find their way off of the endangered list.