Rare flightless birds
have flown the length of the country to a new safe haven on an island in
Auckland.
Nine takahe made the
trip from Fiordland to Motutapu Island, a pest-free island around half an
hour’s ferry ride from Auckland.
The Department of
Conservation (DOC), Mitre 10 and Air New Zealand joined forces to see them
dropped off at their new spot.
The birds were reared
near Te Anau. Motutapu was chosen as a safe site because islands which are
already homes to the takahe, such as Kapiti, Mana, Maud, and Tiritiri Matangi,
are running out of room.
On their new turf, there
is enough space for up to 20 breeding pairs – which will eventually make it the
largest takahe population outside Fiordland.
DOC’s takahe recovery programme
manager, Phil Tisch, said the programme was “crucial” in saving the bird from
extinction.
“It’s enabling us to
take another big step forward in building a safe future for takahe by building
a new population on Motutapu,” he said.
“This is the largest
transportation of takahe we've ever done outside Fiordland. There are only 260
takahe in the world. To move nine of these rare birds virtually the length of
the country in one day is a major undertaking.”
They were released into
native forest planted by volunteers from the Motutapu Restoration Trust.
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