Kākāpō launched at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari bring expect nature remediation

Excitement and hope were in the air as the Waikato invited 4 brand-new locals to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari near Cambridge: kākāpō males Bunker, Māhutonga, Ōtepoti and Motupōhue – all 4 years of ages.

The feathered however flightless quartet is the very first set of kākāpō in years to reside on the mainland and has actually been transferred from Whenua Hou Codfish Island near Rakiura Stewart Island as part of decade-long efforts to bring the types back from the edge of termination.

The Department of Conservation (DoC) and Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari state the moving of the birds brings a message of hope and might end up being a peek into what the future might be like for a number of native types.

The arrival of the kākāpō was likewise considerable to mana whenua of Maungatautari as South Island iwi Ngāi Tahu turned over Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Raukawa, Ngāti Hauā and Waikato with taking care of the birds “as if they are their own tamariki”.

DoC Kākāpō operations supervisor Deidre Vercoe said kakapo were when plentiful all around New Zealand, however due to the intro of predators, the numbers quickly decreased in the mid-1900s.

“Kākāpō are one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most iconic and rare species, recovering from a population low of 51 birds in 1995. Until now, kākāpō have been contained to a few predator-free offshore islands.

“Since 2016 the population doubled to reach a high of 252 birds in 2022, and their island homes are almost at capacity.”

Despite the increasing numbers, the nighttime parrots are still thought about seriously threatened, nevertheless, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari biodiversity group leader Dr Janelle Ward said inviting back 4 birds was a historical occasion.

“It carries a message of hope: Restoration works. We can bring species back from the brink of extinction. We can help nature recover.”

Waikato Regional Council deputy chair Dr Bruce Clarkson says Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari has actually received “the ultimate taonga” with the kakapo which likewise shows good news for other types.

“It’s a flagship for the Waikato and a model for the nation… What we have achieved here is a massive improvement in habitat quality.”

Bunker, Māhutonga, Ōtepoti and Motupōhue are just the very first 4 kakapo to relocate to Sanctuary Mountain. A more 6 are set to follow in the future.

Vercoe said: “Sanctuary Mountain is a large space, with plenty of good habitat for kākāpō, but it’s still unknown whether they will successfully establish here long-term.

“The main focus of this translocation is to learn if kākāpō can thrive in a fenced sanctuary while taking pressure off the islands ahead of future breeding seasons. It’s an exciting glimpse into what the future could be for our rare native birds.

“We are restoring the mauri (life force) of the kakapo, but the kakapo is also restoring the mauri of the people… [and ultimately] restoring the heartbeat of the whenua.”

The long-lasting objective is for kākāpō to go back to their natural variety on mainland Aotearoa in unmanaged populations, however they require an environment devoid of predators like rats and stoats.

At 3400ha, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is the biggest predator-fenced environment in the nation. In preparation for the birds’ arrival, the sanctuary needed to “kākāpō-proof” a considerable variety of its fences, Ward said, since “kakapo can’t fly, but they sure can climb.”

Despite the fences, the kākāpō are still thought about wild birds. “Kākāpō are masters at camouflage, so it is very unlikely visitors to the sanctuary will come across them,” Vercoe said. However, individuals might have the ability to hear their distinct “booming” calls.

The reality that the 4 birds at the sanctuary are all male, is not a coincidence.

“This is a habitat trial and at this stage not for breeding purposes. There is no need for any females to be here when they are needed on the actual breeding islands,” Vercoe said.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu kākāpō healing group representative Tāne Davis associates a mix of mātauranga Māori and Western science to the success story of the bird’s breeding program in the South Island.

“To keep the mauri of our taonga alive we have had to tweak our tikanga (traditions). Although I have felt mamae (hurt) at times, we have had to make the difficult decision to artificially inseminate kākāpō and practice double clutching to separate eggs from their parents, before hatching them using an incubator,” says Tāne Davis.

“Because the population is still low, we have also used genetic sequencing to trace the whakapapa linkages of our manu to reduce inbreeding and minimise abnormalities which were stopping eggs from hatching.”

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Deputy Kaiwhakahaere Matapura Ellison says Ngāi Tahu was grateful for the iwi ki te iwi (iwi to iwi) transfer of the 4 birds.

“The whanaungatanga between our iwi is strengthened further through the shared kaitiakitanga of these precious manu.”

The kākāpō initially taken a trip by helicopter prior to being driven to Queenstown where they captured a flight with Air New Zealand to Auckland. From Auckland, they were driven by car to Sanctuary Mountain.

Air New Zealand is a nationwide partner of DoC and has actually flown more than 4200 threatened types and Conservation Dogs considering that 2012.

The translocation of the kakapo to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari has actually been more than 15 years in the making.