Aotearoa / New Zealand

The breeding season for toroa - the northern royal albatross - has been the most successful on record at the Otago colony, the Department of Conservation says.

Toroa are one of the largest seabirds in the world, with wingspans up to three metres, and DOC classifies them as 'nationally vulnerable', meaning they are at risk of extinction in the medium term.

While the species also breeds on islands in the remote Chatham Islands archipelago, Otago's Pukekura/Taiaroa Head is its only mainland breeding colony and the site has been adapted to protect them, even to the extent of installing sprinklers to help cool them down from rising temperatures in the summer.

This year, 38 toroa chicks were successfully raised by birds at the colony and have fledged - grown strong enough to fly - and left the colony, said DOC albatross ranger Sharyn Broni. The next most successful seasons were last year and the year before, when 33 chicks fledged each year.