Aug 14, 2026 · 32 min
Nigel chooses a concrete mate over a living colony
Nigel and the Real Gannet
Nigel’s story tests whether conservation success can be measured without accounting for an individual animal’s own choices.
- 1A conservation project used concrete gannets and recorded calls to attract real birds to restored Mana Island.
- 2Nigel bonded with a decoy, then rejected the living gannets whose arrival seemed to promise the colony’s success.
- 3His solitude reframes conservation around animal individuality, unconventional pioneers, and the limits of human plans.
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Nigel continues courting and nesting beside his concrete mate even after three living gannets arrive on Mana Island.
The brief
Mana Island was being restored as a refuge for endangered wildlife, and conservationists built a concrete gannet colony with painted decoys and recorded calls.
After nearly two decades, a male Australasian gannet named Nigel arrived—but courted a concrete mate, built her a nest, and made the artificial colony his home.
Three living gannets later appeared, raising hopes that Nigel had helped establish a real community. Instead, he remained with the decoy while the newcomers eventually left.
Chris Bell and Annie McEwen consider what Nigel’s solitude reveals about animal personalities, loneliness, and the adventurous individuals conservation projects depend on.
Nigel died beside his concrete mate during an exceptionally hot January, leaving the decoy overlooking the sea as the project’s most enduring image.
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