Mike
Watson12:17, May 14 2019
A rare
native duck, which 'freezes' when threatened with danger,
is to be released at a Taranaki wildlife sanctuary in the middle of the
duck shooting season to draw attention to its endangered status.
Lake
Rotokare Scenic Reserve will be the future home for the pāteke, or brown
teal, dabbling ducks when volunteers release 20 of the rare
waterfowl on Thursday.
The
sanctuary, 12km east of Eltham, has previously successfully released other rare
native birds, including kiwi, tieke (North Island saddleback), hihi (stitch-bird),
toutouwai (North Island robin), popokatea (whitehead), and recently,
titiponamu (rifleman), to the pest-free area.
Twenty
rare pāteke ducks will be released into Taranaki's Lake Rotokare Scenic Reserve
on Thursday.
Sanctuary
manager Simon Collins said the plight of the pāteke was not a
well-known conservation story but highlighted the diversity of New
Zealand's native species, and the significant challenge to restore the
biodiversity.
Pāteke is
an endemic New Zealand waterfowl species that was once abundant and widespread,
Collins said.
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