Lonely Nigel the gannet dies next to fake concrete partner

Nigel fell in love with his concrete partner and stayed by its side for 3 years
Facebook/ Friends of Mana Island
Alexandra Richards2 February 2018

A giant bird which fell in love with a replica concrete version of itself has died.

Nigel the gannet fell for one of the 80 decoy birds spread out on Mana Island in New Zealand designed to lure real birds to the area.

The decoys which have been on the island since 2012, were accompanied by solar powered gannet calls and were repainted every year to keep up their appearance of being real birds.

Nigel came to the island in 2015 and fell in love, he lived alone with his concrete mate for three years before passing away last week.

He is said to have died by the side of the inanimate bird.

Conservation ranger Chris Bell told the BBC that the bird’s passing was “incredibly sad”.

Speaking about the bird’s relationship he said: "Whether or not he was lonely, he certainly never got anything back, and that must have been a very strange experience."

Nigel had been observed by conservation group Friends of Mana Island who had been touched by the bird’s blossoming relationship.

Posting on Facebook, a spokesperson for the group said that Nigel had “won the hearts" of its members and visitors to the island.

The post included a poem describing the gannet as “no mates Nigel”.

“We weeded, we painted, we sprayed guano around," the post reads, adding: "We hoped you'd find the real thing".

Over Christmas Nigel had been joined by three other real gannets but he reportedly refused to be separated from his concrete beau.

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