Endangered takahe chicks headed to Southland

There was a record number of takahe chicks born on predator-free island sanctuaries this summer.

For the first time, the small mainland population on Maungatautari Ecological Island, Waikato, produced a chick.

Takahe Recovery Manager, Phil Tisch said the increased numbers were a result of Mitre10’s sponsorship and the work done to increase the number of functional breeding pairs at the various sites.

To prevent over-crowding on the islands, eight chicks will soon be winging their way to the Department of Conservation’s Burwood Bush Takahe Rearing Unit, near Te Anau, Southland, to be matched with the unit’s breeding pairs.

Their March arrival, combined with the 12 chicks already at Burwood, will be the largest number of young takahe the unit has cared for during a breeding season.

“The capacity to hold this many chicks over winter has been made possible thanks to Mitre 10’s continued commitment to the programme,” Mr Tisch says.

Since the sponsorship started in 2005 the company has supported bird transfers, helped increase the unit’s breeding pens and assisted in the modernising of the facility.

“Mitre 10’s Takahe Rescue sponsorship has made a real difference to the survival of this rare and very special bird.”

Mr Tisch says the transfer of the chicks from the islands to the rearing unit is an important step towards releasing them into wild.

Once the chicks are nearly a year-old they will be released into an extensively trapped area in the Murchison Mountains, Fiordland National Park.