ALBATROSS

The word albatross is sometimes used metaphorically to mean a psychological burden that feels like a curse.

It is an allusion to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798). In the poem, an albatross starts to follow a ship — being followed by an albatross was generally considered a sign of good luck. However, the titular mariner shoots the albatross with a crossbow, which is regarded as an act that will curse the ship (which indeed suffers terrible mishaps).

The symbolism used in the Coleridge poem is its highlight.

Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks
Had I from old and young !
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatross_(metaphor)

An albatross aloft can be a spectacular sight. These feathered giants have the longest wingspan of any bird—up to 11 feet (3.4 meters)! The wandering albatross is the biggest of some two dozen different species. Albatrosses use their formidable wingspans to ride the ocean winds and sometimes to glide for hours without rest or even a flap of their wings. They also float on the sea's surface, though the position makes them vulnerable to aquatic predators. Albatrosses drink salt water, as do some other sea birds.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/albatross/

THE ENDANGERED ALBATROSS

Many albatross species are in trouble and need our help. Commercial fishing practices are considered the greatest threat to the survival of many albatross species. Other threats include loss of habitat, introduced predators, eating or becoming tangled up in plastic, oil spills and climate change.

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/albatross