Dunedin's new Royal cam albatross chick is out of intensive care and with a foster mum.
The newborn chick was moved to intensive care at the Taiaroa Head colony on Tuesday, after being found to be fly-blown and dropping below its hatch weight.
However, the chick had made it through the night and was now "perky, chirpy and hungry'' after extra feeding and antibiotics, Otago Peninsula Trust marketing manager Sophie Barker said this morning.
The chick was now out of intensive care and, for now, had been placed in a foster nest near the Department of Conservation rangers' office at the colony, she said.
News of the chick's arrival on Saturday was met with excitement after its predecessor, Moana, shot to internet stardom last year.
Moana was the first chick to feature on Doc's Royal cam, and coverage of her progress attracted more than 600,000 views until she fledged, and flew away, last September.
The Taiaroa Head colony's latest breeding season was going as expected, Ms Barker said.
The colony's 36 nests had produced 34 fertile eggs, but eight embryos had died, she said. Another egg had been crushed by one of the parent birds, who had ''feet as big as someone's hand'', Ms Barker said.
Of the 21 chicks to have hatched so far, 20 remained alive. One which hatched last week had died of an infection days later, she said. Another four eggs were still to hatch, she said.
