Weighing in at 420g, this season’s "royal-cam" chick is back on its parents’ nest and ready for an international audience.
Department of Conservation (Doc) wildlife ranger Sharyn Broni said the Royal Albatross Centre’s royal-cam chick was "doing really well".
"The chick fits in the palm of my hand, but it won’t be too long before it’s a two-hander," Mrs Broni said.
It was the second chick to hatch this year at Taiaroa Head, in Dunedin, the only mainland royal albatross breeding colony in the world.
As hatching was under way, it was an exhilarating time of the year, she said.
"It’s all go, and it’s very exciting to see the chicks starting to hatch and go back to their nests."
The royal-cam nest was selected each year based on the birds’ temperaments, Mrs Broni said.
Experienced breeders with a good temperament were preferred for the royal-cam, but there were also logistical requirements, such as the nest being within the range of where the camera cable could reach, she said.
This chick would be the parents’ third chick after the pair started breeding in 2019.
There were 40 viable eggs at the time the first chick hatched, but it was a long way to go before it was known how many chicks would hatch at the colony this year.
Most chicks were due to hatch around the end of this month, but the last chick was not due to hatch until February 11.
The first chicks should fledge in September, Mrs Broni said.
This breeding season has already been marked by drama.
Four eggs went missing in an unsolved, suspected case of poaching at the monitored and fenced site.
Then last week, nearly seven years to the day after she hatched, Moana, the first star of the royal-cam, returned to the colony.
