Toroa fledgling Tiaki has arrived in Chile after more than a month flying across the South Pacific Ocean.
Tiaki before he left the Otago Peninsula last month. Photo: Supplied / DoC
A northern royal albatross, Tiaki hatched on January 24 and left Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula late last month.
Young albatrosses typically spend several years at sea, foraging in the Southern Ocean before returning home to New Zealand to breed.
A satellite tracker meant Tiaki's voyage to South America can be tracked online and the plucky toroa had plenty of fans.
Tiaki, the northern royal albatross we watched grow up at Tairoa Head, has almost crossed the Pacific (check out the link)! Deserves a #BirdOfTheYear vote. Pic from when she was just a ball of fluff. #VoteToroa
— sally greaves (@CardioKiwi) October 28, 2021
Laura Findlay https://t.co/Blfm5TOG1o pic.twitter.com/cmFdS3b4SI
Tiaki featured on the Royal Albatross Cam, also known as the RoyalCam, located at the end of the Otago Peninsula, in the Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve.
10/30
— RoyalAlbatrossCam (@RoyAlbatrossCam) October 30, 2021
The little #RoyalCam chick that could. Tiaki has arrived in Chile, in just over a month!https://t.co/y9AVhSgQph
She has earned her wings now.
What an amazing journey to watch this chick learn to fly.
Happy & safe eating Tiaki.https://t.co/9A481yiiom#VoteToroa pic.twitter.com/gW92Z3bQBd
Each year since 2015 it has featured a different nesting pair of albatrosses and Tiaki was the offspring of this year's featured pair.
The Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve is the only mainland colony of albatrosses in the Southern Hemisphere and is home to nearly 10,000 seabirds.
The distances previous albatrosses have crossed the Pacific are huge. Photo: Supplied / DoC
The RoyalCam's livestream is hosted by the Department of Conservation and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
