Takahē thrive in new wild home on Ngāi Tahu whenua in Ōtākou/Otago

Date:  15 August 2024

Ngāi Tahu and DOC first 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.  

Gail Thompson, Representative for Ngāi Tahu on the Takahē Recovery Group says when Tā Tipene O’Regan and other Ngāi Tahu whānau joined DOC and Fulton Hogan to release 18 takahē on this whenua in August last year it was highly significant.

“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.

“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,” Gail says.

DOC Takahē Recovery Operations Manager Deidre Vercoe says attempting to set up a new wild population can take time, and success isn’t guaranteed, 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.

“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,” Anne 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,” Anne says.

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."

The unfortunate injury to a juvenile takahē which led to its euthanasia occurred last month when DOC rangers were catching birds to check their health and weight, which is important for determining if the habitat is suitable.

“The juvenile bird’s leg was unfortunately broken when being caught by an experienced DOC ranger to fit identification leg bands and a radio-transmitter,” says Deidre Vercoe.

“Radio transmitters are important for tracking birds’ movements and are critical to understanding the longer-term population success of this new site.   

“Transmitters last four to five years and over this time enable us to confirm if a bird is alive and to track its location. This information is vital for informing our predator control intensity, and to inform next steps of potentially expanding the population into surrounding areas.

“Vets made multiple attempts to reset the broken leg, but these were unsuccessful. The bird would not survive in the wild with this injury so for its welfare it was euthanised.

“While there is always an element of risk, it is extremely rare for takahē to be injured during capture due to the skill and experience of takahē team members. This is one of few times it has happened in many thousands of bird captures in the 20 years of the Takahē Recovery Programme. This is a reminder that intensive conservation is not without risk to individual animals, but also that takahē population recovery has only been made possible through this intensive management.”

Predator trapping in the Greenstone Valley is carried out by DOC and supported by Air New Zealand, the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust and Southern Lakes Sanctuary. 

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.

Background information

Fulton Hogan joined with DOC as a national partner to the Takahē Recovery Programme in July 2016. Its support has enabled the recovery programme to grow its work.

The New Zealand Nature Fund has a long-standing association with the programme and joined the DOC and Fulton Hogan partnership in July 2016, providing administration and advocacy support.

More than half the total takahē population is now living at wild sites in the takahē homeland in the Murchison Mountains, in Gouland Downs in Kahurangi National Park and on Greenstone Station.

Takahē recovery is also supported by teams at 18 island and mainland sanctuary sites that provide safe breeding places for takahē to grow their numbers.

Takahē were traditionally a resource for Ngāi Tahu tīpuna/ancestors, who used feathers for weaving korowai/cloaks and kākahu/clothes. Bones were also likely used as needles and for making items.

Seven of the 18 Ngāi Tahu Papatipu Rūnanga have a shared interest in and around Whakatipu Waimāori, Tāhuna and the inland Ōtākou region, referred to as ‘tuawhenua’. Those seven rūnanga are: Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, Hokonui Rūnanga, Oraka Aparima Rūnaka, Te Rūnanga o Awarua and Waihōpai Rūnaka. The release had their full support.

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