Threatened albatross eggs suspected stolen from Taiaroa Head/Pukekura reserve

Four toroa/northern royal albatross eggs are suspected to have been stolen from a monitored Otago Peninsula reserve, leaving conservation staff "devastated". Photo / Richard Robinson

Four toroa/northern royal albatross eggs are suspected to have been stolen from a monitored Otago Peninsula reserve, leaving conservation staff “devastated”.

The eggs were noticed missing on Thursday morning during routine checks at Taiaroa Head/Pukekura, where the Department of Conservation (DoC) has long managed a colony of the threatened seabirds.

DoC Coastal Otago operations manager Annie Wallace said DoC compliance officers and police were now investigating, with support from the Royal Albatross Centre and mana whenua.

"This is a very unusual event – the colony has been managed and monitored for years, and it's strange for eggs to disappear without a trace."

Wallace said it was still unclear what happened, and staff were gathering security camera footage and talking to people who may have relevant information.

"However, it's thought the eggs may have been taken as there are no signs they were eaten by predators."

Toroa are classified as nationally vulnerable and threatened by climate change, fishing practices, plastic pollution, and habitat loss.

They also reproduce slowly, so every egg and chick are important to the population, Wallace said.

"They need all the help they can get, and it will be extremely disappointing if someone has taken these eggs," she said.

Toroa are one of the largest seabirds in the world, with a wingspan of more than 3m, and are classified as nationally vulnerable. Photo / Richard Robinson

"This is devastating for our staff that put in countless hours caring for these birds in challenging conditions, keeping them cool on hot days, working to prevent flystrike, and providing supplementary feeds to underweight chicks."

Taiaroa Head is the only mainland site in the world where toroa breed, and one of the few places in the world where people can easily see them.

"It's a privilege that people need to respect."

Wallace said the colony was a nature reserve and fully fenced, with entry by permit only.

There was also a Wildlife Foreshore Sanctuary along the coast which restricted both foot and boat access.

Lyndon Perriman, who worked as a ranger at the reserve between 1989 and 2016, was similarly puzzled by the eggs’ disappearance.

During his time, he said there’d been no such occurrences – and questioned whether the recent removal of a section of fence had allowed intruders to access the nest.

“It’s actually now relatively easy for people, if they study the area, to get into the reserve, now that that fence is gone.”

Perriman considered it unlikely that a pest predator was responsible.

“Stoats, ferrets or cats... they certainly couldn’t take away an albatross egg without breaking it.”

At the same time, he wasn’t aware of any obvious motivation for people to take the eggs.

“Who would know what goes on in some people’s heads,” he said.

“In places like the UK there used to be egg collectors that would go about collecting species’ eggs... but I’ve never heard anything like that occurring here in New Zealand.”

Te Poari a Pukekura management group chair Nadia Wesley-Smith said the eggs’ disappearance was “deeply concerning”.

Not only did it disrupt the mauri and mana of the headland, but also had a “devastating impact to the toroa population, and the conservation efforts of all who care for our taoka species”, she said.

Te Rūnanga o Ōtakou chair Rachel Wesley said the hapū from Ōtākou had a close affinity with the toroa at Pukekura, so viewed the unexplained disappearance “with the utmost concern”.

“Due to the slow breeding cycle and vulnerable status of toroa, any loss of eggs or chicks from natural causes is disappointing, but the unexplained nature of this particular incident, and especially with the suggestion it may be people who are responsible, is absolutely devastating,” she said.

“I hope answers to their whereabouts will be found quickly and the eggs of this important taoka species still remain viable.”

With a wingspan of more than 3m, toroa are one of the largest seabirds in the world - but also one of the rarest.

There are about 17,000 of these long-lived birds left, which range widely across the Southern Ocean.

Most breed on several islands in the Chatham Islands.

Toroa are also protected under the Wildlife Act and it is an offence to kill, injure, harass or disturb them.

Under the Wildlife Act, a sentence could include a fine of up to $100,000 and/or up to two years’ imprisonment.

Anyone with information that might could help locate the eggs were asked to call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) or the Police non-emergency number 105.