A new albatross family is taking centre stage on Otago Peninsula as the "Royal Cam" returns following the tragic death of the colony's last web superstar.
The new stars, a female albatross WO and male albatross GO, have been together since 2015 and recently received a female foster chick, deserted as an egg and hatched on January 22 .
WO and GO laid their own egg on November 5, which died as an embryo.
The last Royal Cam albatross was tragically killed by its mother last month as the colony faces a tough season because of Dunedin's record-breaking summer temperatures.
Doc Threatened Species Ambassador Nicola Toki said the early months of a new chick were extremely challenging, and this was especially the case after a tough, hot summer.
"Observing the life of our albatross’ close up is a privilege and really brings home the precariousness of life for this precious species," Ms Toki said.
Ms Toki said the death of the last chick was unusual.
Aggression by adults and juveniles towards chicks had been seen previously, but was unusual behaviour and Doc was uncertain why the attack occurred.
With increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change, the loss of an individual, for any reason, became even more critical for the population’s conservation.
Weather conditions resulted in a high incidence of embryo death inside the egg and the albatross colony only had 14 chicks compared with 26 and 23 at the same time over the last two years respectively.
Ms Toki said the impacts of climate change mean Doc was faced with even more complex management challenges.
"Doc is aware some native species management practices will need to be adapted to meet the additional challenges brought by climate change."
The chick’s death was a sad event and very upsetting to Royal Cam fans and the rangers working with the albatross colony.
"Life at the albatross colony is a fascinating story and will no doubt continue to have ups and downs.
“Right now, things are looking good for the new Royal Cam chick. She’s over 3 kg and is still being partly guarded by WO and GO.
“Keen Royal Cam viewers may remember WO and GO building their nest within Royal Cam’s view last year once last year’s chick Tūmanako fledged.
"We’re very lucky; the camera’s cable stretches just far enough to reach WO and GO’s nest with their new chick," she said.
