The police are looking for missing bird eggs
to bz / dpa
In New Zealand, several eggs from a colony of unique albatrosses have gone missing – and it’s now become a police case.
The country’s conservation agency noticed four eggs missing during routine checks at Tairoa Head on the South Island – the only mainland site in the world where the northern royal albatross nests. The site is fenced for protection.
The police Investigations have begun, the Department of Conservation (DOC) announced Monday.
Annie Wallace, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the colony has been under strict surveillance and oversight for years. “It is strange that the eggs disappear without a trace.” So far it is not clear what exactly happened. “We are collecting CCTV footage and talking to people who may have relevant information,” she said. However, it is presumed that the eggs were stolen because there is no evidence that they were eaten by predators.
Great seabirds, in New Zealand They are at risk across the country, Wallace said. Climate change in particular, but also hunting practices, plastic pollution, and loss of their habitat are affecting them. In addition, they only multiply slowly. “So all eggs and chicks are important to the population.” The disappearance of the eggs is devastating news for all the staff who spend countless hours tending to birds in difficult conditions.
The northern royal albatross is one of the largest seabirds in the world, with a wingspan of more than 3 metres. There are still about 17,000 specimens distributed widely across the Southern Ocean, according to New Zealand authorities. Most breed on the islands of the Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
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