Photo: Australasian Gannet Chick NZ

A mother Australasian Gannet tends to her chick at the Cape Kidnappers colony on the North Island of NZ.

An Australasian Gannet adult cleans and checks over her one month old chick in the colony at Hawkes Bay on the North Island of NZ. The fluffy chick looks like a white ball of soft cotton at a month of being in the wild and it will not leave its mother's side until after 100 days or so. As you can see, the adult Australasian Gannet takes very good care of her young chick by cleaning and feeding it.

The Australasian Gannet chick will not have the distinct markings like its mother until it reaches maturity around its fifth birthday. The Australasian Gannet breeds in the Cape Kidnappers colony of NZ where each chick hatches after about 44 days. This chick will not be able to breed itself until it reaches six or seven years of age. This particular species of sea bird has one of the longest lifespans and usually reaches an average age of between 25-38.

The Cape Kidnappers Australasian Gannet Reserve is the largest and most accessible of all the colonies around the world. ... continue below the picture...

This picture is part of the photo album "Animal Pictures" - there are more beautiful images waiting for you.

... Always take your camera along to the colony as you are bound to find a mother and chick sitting on the rocks of Cape Kidnappers on the North Island of NZ.

Australasian Gannet adult with its month old chick, Morus serrator, at the Cape Kidnappers colony, Hawkes Bay, North Island, New Zealand.