Lessons in long-distance love from the preening, dancing albatross
Only something like 3-5 per cent of mammals stay with one mate for life.
Whether you're into it or not, the idea of mating for life — 'til death do us part — looms large in the human psyche. It's nice to know other animals are out there doing the same thing.
But when it comes to sticking with our mate, there's something else that humans do that most animals don't: long distance relationships.
We do it. And so do albatrosses.
Producer Michelle Macklem had been in a long-distance relationship for 2 years and she was curious about why so many people, herself included, embarked on long distance relationships — often without knowing when, if ever, they'd live in the same place.
The albatross: love stories from afar
Long distance relationships are anything but easy; they often involve a lot of planning, constant travel and ultimately compromise.
About the producer
Michelle uses vivid sound design to explore the atmospheric and ambient nature of audio. Her sound-rich work Swimmers was short listed for the Third Coast Short Docs 2016 competition. Michelle graduated with an MA in Media Studies from Concordia in 2016. When she's not mixing it up in the studio, she can be found out and about recording forests, fields and sidewalks. Currently, she is the associate producer for CBC Radio's Sleepover.
Credits
Thanks to interview subjects and collaborators: Rachelle, Emily, Sol, Miho Hashizume and Paul Meyer.
Generous thanks to the Halcyon Quartet for allowing us to use the recording of Mozart String Quartet No. 16 K 428. The Halcyon Quartet is Paul Meyer and Wendy Rose (violins), Kent Teeple (viola) and Marie Gélinas (cello).
Thanks to Vanessa Fralick for her trombone contributions.
Albatross recordings from David M. courtesy of xeno-canto.org.
This documentary includes excerpts from the book, The Thing with Feathers by Noah Strycker.
Special thanks to Veronica Simmonds.