The Department of Conservation (DOC) says relocated takahē have been thriving and raising juveniles in their new home on Ngāi Tahu whenua/land in the upper Lake Whakatipu Waimāori valleys.
DOC and Ngāi Tahu released 18 takahē on the Ngāi Tahu tribal property Greenstone Station in August last year to set up a third new wild population. A further 10 birds were subsequently released to form a founding population of 28 birds.
“It has been wonderful to see how well the manu have settled into their new habitat on Greenstone Station during the past year, successfully hatching chicks and generally maintaining good health,” said Representative for Ngāi Tahu on the Takahē Recovery Group, Gail Thompson.
“I would like to acknowledge the team members on the ground carrying out the ongoing monitoring and predator control work needed to support the survival of this takahē population.”
DOC Takahē Recovery Operations Manager, Deidre Vercoe says attempting to set up a new wild population can take time, but so far signs are very positive.
“All indications are that the Greenstone Station population is successfully establishing. Most birds have not moved away from where they were released, they have successfully raised offspring, and there have been no adult deaths,” said Ms Vercoe.
“The takahē are also in healthy condition, indicating this is good habitat for takahē and they are adapting well to their new environment.
“It’s particularly promising that eight out of 10 pairs started nesting within a few months of being released, exceeding our expectations and showing they are settled enough to breed. We believe seven to 10 chicks hatched but some young chicks commonly die in the first weeks and months of life from natural causes.
“It’s positive that five chicks survived to more than six months of age as this is a higher rate of survival than occurs at other wild sites, in Fiordland’s Murchison Mountains and Kahurangi National Park. Unfortunately, one of the five juveniles had to be euthanised due to injury.
“Predator control is crucial for the survival of takahē in the wild and we’re encouraged that trapping in the Greenstone Valley has so far helped prevent any of the adults being predated. But late winter is a vulnerable time as the number of rats in the area reduce due to lack of food, and stoats, ferrets and feral cats that prey on rats can then switch to native birds for food.”
Returning takahē to the Greenstone Valley, where they likely lived centuries ago, is another significant advance for the Ngāi Tahu and DOC Takahē Recovery Programme with National Partner Fulton Hogan and the New Zealand Nature Fund. The national population now numbers around 500, with annual growth around 8% a year. The takahē recovery focus is now on establishing new wild populations to progress the goal of having multiple takahē populations living wild over large areas of their former range.
Anne and Stu Percy, who manage the Greenstone Station on behalf of Ngāi Tahu, have found that cattle and takahē are able to co-exist very well.
“Our working dogs have all been through the takahē aversion training programme,” Ms Percy says.
“The DOC team have been great at keeping us up to date with their monthly reports on the birds, their GPS tracking and how they’re doing.
“It has been exciting to see that some chicks have arrived and are thriving in their new environment,” she said.
Fulton Hogan New Zealand CEO, Ben Hayward says the Takahē Recovery Programme’s success in increasing the national population to around 500 birds is a significant milestone, and one which Fulton Hogan is immensely proud to have contributed toward.
“The thriving takahē population at Greenstone Station is a testament to the collaborative efforts of Ngāi Tahu, DOC, and our team at Fulton Hogan. Seeing these birds adapt and raise offspring in their new environment is incredibly rewarding,” he said.
The new wild site for takahē in Greenstone Station is a first step towards an aimed expansion of the takahē population over the upper Whakatipu Waimāori valleys. Ngāi Tahu and DOC are currently considering whether takahē might be released in the nearby Rees Valley next year (2025), providing predator control is keeping predator numbers low enough.
