Gannet bird is the largest bird in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up to 2 meters. This is a very rare bird. In 2015, the bird Nigel was invited to Mana Island. For years, Nigel has been called an unhappy name: the loneliest bird in the world.
The local government at that time had an ambition to attract gannet bird to New Zealand. To lure these extremely rare birds, people have placed bait with realistic-looking concrete birds on the cliffs and fitted them with speakers that emit the sound of this species.
Nigel was tricked into coming to New Zealand in 2015 as the island's first osprey in 40 years. However, none of friend his kind joined him.
Years later, Nigel lives alone on the island, surrounded by 80 fake birds. He seems to be stuck here and is barely able to find any of his own species. It could be said that Nigel has chosen to stay in New Zealand instead of flying back home.
Out of the 80 fake birds, Nigel fell in love with one of them and even built a nest for his lover. People were extremely surprised to see the lonely bird graciously grooming the cold concrete plumage of that "bird".
Witnessing this touching moment, it is believed that Nigel was too lonely. He communicated and interacted with the concrete bird as if he truly believed it was a gannet bird that had feelings and could reciprocate him.
One day in February 2018, Nigel, the loneliest bird in the world, died thousands of kilometers away from home. People were moved to see it die next to the concrete bird, with its bright orange-yellow feathers still glistening in the sun of the sea and the island.
The story of the lonely gannet bird falling in love with a fake bird was published in the press. Mana Island, a scientific reserve in New Zealand, now attracts many tourists thanks to Nigel.
People come here to see Nigel and spend time with him. In fact, another gull named Norman arrived on Mana Island in 2017, but he is also male and cannot be paired with Nigel. Then, Norman flew north again after stopping on the island.
Conservation Ranger Chris Bell, who also lived on the island, witnessed Nigel's tearful death. She shared that he did not know if Nigel felt lonely, but he knew that Nigel would never come home again. This is a sad and hopeless ending to Nigel's story.
After Nigel's death, conservation officials adjusted the sound system used to attract birds. This attracted three other gannet bird to settle in Mana.
Bell is saddened by the fact that this is indeed a tragic story - Nigel passed away after the miracle happened. However, people will forever remember Nigel as a pioneer and a signal to the new gannet birds that Mana is the right habitat.
