Most of the time, it’s critical to leave baby animals alone, even if they’re hiding in your garden. No matter how cute they are or how soft their fur or feathers look, interfering with baby animals could be dangerous for you or for them. If you’re a professional wildlife researcher, however, it’s your job to break these rules!
At the Pukekura/Taiaroa Head Nature Preserve on New Zealand’s South Island, wildlife researchers keep a close eye on the local Royal albatross population through tagging and tracking. It’s their job to weigh and tag new albatross chicks every year, including one especially sassy bird who threw the most adorable tantrum after being held and measured.
This record-breaker had the heaviest weight the New Zealand Department of Conservation has seen on an albatross chick, but he didn’t love the way they were talking about his weight!
OMG, what a chunky chick! He was a very polite baby bird while the researchers held and weighed him, but a soon as he was back on his own two feet, he had a few choice words for his human friends.
“Love the sassy ‘chomp chomp chomp’ from the baby after it was put back,” one person commented. There’s no mistaking what this albatross was thinking! To be fair, he’s not used to seeing humans, let alone being handled by them, but he still let the researchers get his measurements and put a trackable band on his leg.
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Recording baby albatross’s measurements, like their weight, can help wildlife researchers learn more about the population and how they’re faring in the wild. The baby animals are also at the perfect age and size for the trackable band to be fitted on their legs, though no one was expecting to find a baby of this size.
Another comment had me smiling from ear to ear: “Excellent muppet harvest this year.” They’re bigger and fluffier than ever! These young birds really do look like puppets with their downy feathers and large, round bodies, but some sound effects over the chomping beak would really have me convinced!
Agami Photo Agency/Shutterstock
This big bird and his friends at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head are part of the only mainland Royal Albatross colony in the Southern Hemisphere, and thanks to a close eye from conservationists and wildlife researchers, they can be set up for a long, healthy life. I can’t wait to see how big this guy gets when he’s fully grown!
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