Watch Moana take to the air around the two-minute mark
Moana, the northern royal albatross who has become an internet sensation, has left Taiaroa Head on a long sea voyage.
The Department of Conservation has advised that Moana fledged today, meaning she has left her nest to fly towards South American waters.
She will spend four to 10 years at sea, after which she may return to Taiaroa Head to breed and raise a chick.
Since she hatched in January, thousands of people around the world have watched Moana on a web cam. The royal cam webpage has received over 500,000 views.
DOC ranger Lyndon Perriman said the web cam would continue to be based at Taiaroa Head.
“While we won’t be able to film Moana, there will be other albatross at Taiaroa Head preparing their nests for the next season,” Mr Perriman said.
“Although Moana has left, we’re looking forward to seeing which birds breed next season and who will be our next albatross star.”
The chick was given her name by Tainui School pupils Dakota McKenzie and Aleece Hosking, who got to meet the bird earlier this year.
Hoani Langsbury, the Manager of Operations Taiaroa Head for Otago Peninsula Trust, said Moana had been the star attraction at the Royal Albatross Centre this year.
''We’re all sad to see her go as she has captured thousands of hearts around the world,'' he said.
''We’ve had people from all over NZ come on our tours especially to see her. Our team, along with DOC, have responded to huge amounts of social media and email queries. She has been an incredible ambassador for royal albatross and we hope to see her back again in a few years.”
Mr Langsbury said the trust was committed to working with Doc to ensure we continue to share live webcams. He said that thanks to people’s donations and support, they planned to have at least two webcams going soon.
Some of of Moana’s biggest fans from New Zealand and Australia will visit the Albatross Centre on September 17 for a fledging party, to mark Moana’s departure.
