10 | June• 2019
N
ew Zealand Department of
Conservation rangers are
hoping social media will help
educate the community about the
plight of the endangered northern
royal albatross. The mysterious
large sea bird is under threat from
climate change, parasitic flies and
heat stress.
Rangers have set up a webcam
known as ‘RoyalCam’ to record the
first few months of life of newborn
chicks in albatross nests at the
remote Taiaroa Head on the Otago
Peninsula. The royal albatrosses (the
species is also known as toroa) are
the largest sea birds in the world and
breed exclusively in New Zealand
waters. They have been described as
the ‘casualties on the front line’ of the
war against plastic as they mainly
feed by swooping down on squid
and often mistake brightly coloured
plastic for prey.
The feed has become a global hit
and the conservation benefits from
donations to the Royal Albatross
Centre have increased.Nest Webcam Helping Save Endangered Birds
COMPILED BY VICTORIA POLZOT