‘World’s loneliest bird’ Nigel dies in New Zealand

Wellington : New Zealand wildlife lovers are mourning the death of a gannet named Nigel, dubbed “the loneliest bird in the world” due to the absence of any feathered friends on his island home.

Instead the seabird, also known as “no-mates Nigel”, spent years living among a colony of fake concrete birds set up by conservationists in a bid to attract wildlife.

The antisocial avian fell in love with one of the decoys on Mana Island, off the Wellington coast, and was seen preening, nestling and even trying to mate with it.

“Nigel chose to live on Mana, and we know he was happy there because he could have left any time and didn’t,” Department of Conservation ranger Chris Bell said Wednesday.