Nigel ‘no mates’, as he was affectionately known, lived his life on the edge of a desolate cliff on the almost-uninhabited Mana Island, with only 80 fake gannets as his company.
Sadly, the much-celebrated gannet, the only one of its kind, was found dead on the coast of New Zealand by ranger Chris Bell, from the New Zealand Department of Conversation, surrounded by concrete replicas of birds he thought to be his friends and family.
Nigel had attempted to woo one of the replicas in 2013 in an act of courtship, which led to him building a nest from seaweed, mud and twigs for the bird.
Nigel ‘no mates’ was brought to the island five years ago by wildlife officials, who first placed the concrete replicas on the cliff side in December 1997, broadcasting their calls through a sound system in hopes of establishing a new colony.
He was the first gannet to settle on Mana Island in 40 years and conservationists hoped there would be many more, but none followed and he developed a moniker among his fans as “the world’s loneliest bird”.
In a cruel twist of fate, three new gannets were spotted on the island last year on Christmas Eve, marking 20 years since the concrete colony was first established, and there was hope that Nigel would finally have some flesh-and-blood company.
Posting on Facebook, the Friends of Mana Island group, who throughout the years have kept Nigel’s fans up to date with his exploits, said: “Some sad news from the island … Nigel our first gannet died suddenly.”
“Nigel won the hearts of Friends of Mana Island members and visitors to the island, settling there alone. Three newbies arrived, a Christmas surprise, but suddenly you are gone… Here’s hoping the three new arrivals stay and reproduce.”
The island itself is a scientific reserve and subject to a restoration project, with seabirds playing a vital role in the ecosystem, their droppings providing rich nutrients and their burrows creating homes for other wildlife.
Mana, which was farmed from the 1820s to the 1980s, is pest free. It has been restored with 500,000 native trees, and lizards, seabirds and other native birds have been translocated, Friends of Mana Island said.
“Mana Island is a great scientific reserve because Mana never had rats,” Mr Bell said. “So it’s a great place to reintroduce species.”
The ranger said that it was incredibly sad to lose the gannet patriarch just as three new birds were joining the colony.
“This just feels like the wrong ending to the story. He died right at the beginning of something great,” he said. “I certainly feel sad. Having had him sit there year after year with his concrete mate, it just doesn’t seem how it should have ended. It would have been nice if he had been able to hold on a few more years to find a partner and breed.”
The Friends of Mana Island group posted a poem in tribute to Nigel, with the lines: “We weeded, we painted, we sprayed guano around, and we hoped you’d find the real thing.
Nigel’s body has now been sent to the Massey University to determine a cause of death. It is unknown where he will be laid to rest but one fan suggested to the Friends of Mana Island group that he be cremated and his ashes stored in a concrete urn made to look like him.
