The newest Royal Cam albatross chick with its father. Photo: Supplied / Department of Conservation
This year's royal albatross breeding season at Taiaroa Head is looking like it will be the best on record, the Otago Peninsula Trust says.
The newest Department of Conservation Royal Cam albatross chick has hatched at the albatross colony on the Otago peninsula, marking the start of the 2025 Royal Cam season.
Each year, a toroa pair is livestreamed as they go from nesting to fledging a chick. The livestream is now in its 10th year.
Otago Peninsula Trust ecotourism manager Hoani Langsbury said hatching had been going on for about 10 days at Taiaroa Head.
"I think to date 29 chicks have hatched, one of those being the Royal Cam chick, and we still have 11 eggs either about to go in incubators or in incubators," he said.
"Last year and the year before were both record years of which 33 chicks fledged. There's always potential for losses between hatching which is usually concluded end of January, so really they've got a couple of days to finish that, and fledging in September. So I think we're looking good for actually this being the best breeding season on record."
Langsbury said marking a decade of DOC's Royal Cam livestream was significant.
The newest Department of Conservation Royal Cam albatross chick has hatched at the albatross colony on the Otago peninsula, marking the start of the 2025 Royal Cam season. Photo: Supplied / Department of Conservation
The livestream attracted many people who were fascinated by nature, he said.
"We definitely have people that turn up to the Royal Albatross Centre that have specifically seen the Royal Cam chick that they've been watching for months at a time, as well as those that have never seen the Royal Cam on, but after they've been on a tour, they're very keen to go home and spend the rest of their lives watching their camera and just seeing what happens.
"I've been in the headland now for about 13 years so have seen fledging, hatching and the success of breeding at the headland just keep increasing. Back then a good year started with about 23 or 24 eggs, this year we started with 44 of which there's always a few failures ... so it's fantastic to actually see taonga or a native species doing really well."
In a Facebook post, the Department of Conservation said: "Royal Cam not only provides an intimate insider's look into this taonga species of Aotearoa, but reflects the hard work and dedication from our staff, Te Poari a Pukekura and community groups over the years to help protect and care for toroa."
The albatross colony had grown from one breeding pair in 1937 to more than 60 pairs in 2024, DOC said.
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