News
Albert, the Southern Royal Albatross
On 24 December 2005 a Southern Royal Albatross was picked up from Ripiro Beach
near Glinks Gully on the west coast of northland New Zealand.
The male bird, estimated to be two or three years old was worn out and had a
wing injury after battling strong stormy winds. Robert Webb, Centre Manager,
said that the bird would normally rest for several days on the beach until he
got his strength back. Due to the number of people on holiday in the area at
this time of year, it was the safer option for “Royal Albert” to come in to the
safety of the Centre to recover.
The royal albatross is only the second one to come into the Centre since it
started. After contacting the Dunedin sanctuary it was confirmed that the bird
did not come from there, so it probably came from lower down in the Auckland
Island area, about 465 kms south of Bluff.
The bird is absolutely huge, with an estimated weight of 9kg and 3.3m wing span.
He is also very well behaved and extremely hungry. He eats about $20 of
pilchards a day. Robert Webb jokes; he’s eating us out of house and home so
hopefully he pays his board before he goes.
Royal Southern Albatross at the Centre during his recovery
While Royal Albert was at the Centre we had hundreds of people coming to visit
to see this magnificent bird up close. Royal Albert took his new found celebrity
status in his stride and was not at all worried about all the people visiting
him as long as the pilchards kept on coming to fill his tummy. The number of
visitors was also a god send for the Centre as their donations helped to buy the
large volumes of pilchards required.
The daily routine to care for Royal Albert was to get him out of his pen in the
morning, he would walk up to where he was to be fed. He would have a big flap
and stretch, a few little runs then he used to quite often sit down and preen
him self for the next half hour. This gave us time clean his pen. As with any
bird a few hours a day in the ultra violet light aids in the recovery of the
bird by helping to replenish natural energy resources. The daily exercise on the
lawn also provided the opportunity for the public to view this bird at very
close quarters. Very few people would ever get the opportunity to get this close
to a live albatross.
We could tell that Royal Albert was ready for release when he started to hold
his wings out while facing the wind, jumping up and down on the spot. An
albatross can only take off from the top of the water or by jumping off a cliff.
Albert was released on the morning of 7 Jan 2006 out off Tutukaka on the east
coast of northland. The Tutukaka coast guard provided the transport and the
event was recorded by 2 television news programs as well as the local news
paper. Robert Webb held Royal Albert in the air at the bow of the coastguard
boat as it cruised through the water, hoping that Royal Albert would catch the
breeze and fly away. What actually happened was that the bird just flopped into
the water. He sat quite happily on the water and bathed, preened and drank.
Royal Albert finally flew off in the afternoon when the wind conditions were
right.
Royal Albert was last spotted off Cape Brett about 2 weeks after his release. He
was observed quite happily diving for fish.
Royal Southern Albatross during release
[ Back ] |
