NZ albatross leaves storm behind
16 Mar 2010
A huge albatross that crash-landed in a Wellington backyard last week is back in the air and should be winging her way home.
Wellington Zoo staff, who this afternoon released the bird they’d nursed back to health, hope she'll soon be reunited with her chick - believed to be at Taiaroa Head royal albatross colony, near Dunedin in the South Island.
The female northern royal albatross - with a massive three-metre-plus wingspan - was found injured in a Wainuiomata garden east of Wellington after a brief but fierce storm swept through the Wellington region last Friday (12.03.10).
The injured albatross is one of only 30,000 that exist in the New Zealand wild.
New Zealand is considered the albatross capital of the world with more than half the world’s species nesting in the country.
Crash landing
Wellington Zoo staff carried out blood tests and x-rays on the massive bird to check for injuries after the crash landing. It seemed okay though a little underweight, spokesman Matt Kennard said.
The albatross was spotted in the garden after the residents heard a crash outside, Kennard said.
"It must have given them quite a shock," he said.
When the albatross was still there on Saturday, Department of Conservation (DOC) officers recommended that it go to the zoo.
The huge bird was a bit stunned - "It looked a bit shell-shocked" - but otherwise alright, he said.
"She's awesome, a real beauty," said Kennard.
Makara Beach release
Zoo staff gave the albatross plenty to eat while she was in their care, before releasing her at Makara Beach, on Wellington’s rugged south west coast.
The beach had been chosen because it had "a good long run up" and plenty of wind - necessary for the huge bird to take flight.
Kennard said the bird seemed to have fully recovered and gained altitude quickly.
It was hoped the albatross would head straight to Taiaroa Head - more than 600km away - to be reunited with her baby. With the bird capable of swooping speeds of around 115 kph it was predicted she could be home in time for dinner.
Taiaroa Head, Otago
Taiaroa Head’s royal albatross colony, on the Otago peninsula, is the only mainland breeding colony for any albatross species found in the southern hemisphere.
The first Taiaroa-reared chick flew in 1938, and the now protected nature reserve has grown into an established colony with a population of 140 birds.
This season has been a successful one for the colony with 17 new arrivals, including the first successfully hatched by same sex parents. Two females shared the nesting duties - normally a male / female role - over the long 80-day incubation period.
More information:
Taiaroa Head albatross colony
Native NZ birds get cracking
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