Nigel, lonely seabird dies next to the concrete decoy he loved for five years

Team Udayavani, Feb 5, 2018, 5:04 PM IST

Mana Island (New Zealand): Nigel, a gannet bird who lived for five years in Mana Islands here, died last week.

It has been reported that Nigel, was lured to Mana Island five years ago by wildlife officials who, in hopes of establishing a gannet colony there, had placed concrete gannet decoys on cliffsides and broadcast the sound of the species’ calls. Nigel accepted the invitation, arriving in 2013 as the island’s first gannet in 40 years. 

Nigel lived a lonely life here for five years as none others joined him here.

According to a news site, Nigel got attracted to one of the concrete decoys and also built a nest next to it. He died next to her in the island.

“Whether or not he was lonely, he certainly never got anything back, and that must have been very strange experience,” conservation ranger Chris Bell, who lives on the island, told.

“I think we all have a lot of empathy for him, because he had this fairly hopeless situation.”

Nigel’s body will be sent to Massey University so experts can determine how he died.