Nigel and the Real Gannet
In 2016, Chris Bell, a ranger with New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, was the sole human inhabitant of a small island off the west coast of the country, called Mana Island. He was there to take care of the island’s fragile and recovering ecosystem, including a colony of Australasian Gannets at the top of a high cliff overlooking the sea. But there was one catch. All but one of these striking seabirds were fake, made of concrete and paint.
This week on Radiolab, producer Annie McEwen tells us a love story about a rogue bird and what happens when the things we want for animals clash with what they seem to choose for themselves.
Special thanks to Melody Thomas and Kirsten Johnstone from Popsock Media, the New Zealand-based podcast company. Thanks also to Mathias Kom and Ariel Sharratt from The Burning Hell and Steven Lambke at You’ve Changed Records.
Visit Friends of Mana Island at https://manaisland.org.nz/ to learn more about conservation efforts on Mana Island.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - Annie McEwen
Produced by - Annie McEwen
with mixing help from - Jeremy Bloom
Fact-checking by - Diane A. Kelly
and Edited by - Alex Neason
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Videos -
There are many Nigel-inspired songs, poems, and plays find links to a few of them below:
- See Nigel with his concrete mate (https://zpr.io/kZZC9erwauCD)
- Nigel the Gannet song video by The Burning Hell (theburninghell.com)
- Nigel [w/ score] (https://zpr.io/t47J6VkqAXLj) by Angus Davison
- Nigel the Lonely Seabird (https://zpr.io/4gSSv5MX8xTa) by Daniel Henderson
- Nigel (https://zpr.io/FuLupaZG42sn) by Avem
- Nigel No Mates (https://zpr.io/hckrSSdBXKE9 ) by Dainius Kučinskas
- Nigel Gannet (https://zpr.io/kddxySdXqd3C) by Fred Pilcher
- Nigel (https://zpr.io/88HdTWRSd2UF) an Experimental Animated Short Film About a Lonely Gannet
- Nigel, the Seabird, (https://vimeo.com/1023401693) by Chloé Aktaş, debuted at The Elysian Theater in Los Angeles in 2025
Literature -
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