Wally the weka, the mystical bird discovered in Taranaki.
Image: Supplied/DOC
Secret surrounds the discovery of weka in Taranaki, where the secured native bird has actually been extinct considering that the 1930s.
Contributing to the intrigue, the Department of Preservation is fretted the ravenous forager’s reappearance might threaten recuperating communities in the province.
Manaia retired person Pete Andrioli did a double take when asked to help recognize an odd bird that had actually shown up in his boy’s South Taranaki yard.
“I said to my better half straightaway ‘that’s a weka’ however there’s no weka in Taranaki and in truth as far as I understand there’s not that numerous in the North Island.
“So, I decreased there and I handled to capture him after a great deal of chasing and cornering which. He had a side-step on him like Jonah Lomu I simply could not obtain him.”
Pete called the Department of Preservation however kept getting linked to staff in the South Island – where the birds abounded – who encouraged him to launch it.
“I didn’t truly wish to do that due to the fact that I believed he will not last long if I simply let him go.
“So, he damaged my shade house for me. All my tomatoes and strawberries, me raspberries. He tidied up all of them.
“Ultimately, after Christmas, New Year I handle to locate the New Plymouth female at DOC and an hour later on they boiled down and selected him up.”
Wally the weka outstayed his welcome at Pete Andrioli’s property.
Image: Supplied/DOC
Weka were a typical sight in Taranaki up till 1918, however they were gone from the area by 1938 – and an effort to reestablish them on Mt Taranaki in the 1970s was considered not successful.
DOC senior ranger biodiversity Cameron Hunt didn’t at first think it was a weka.
“We were a little sceptical ourselves that there was in fact a weka in Mania up until we saw the images.
“You understand weka are not discovered in Taranaki and have actually been here for numerous several years, however certainly once we’d seen the images we understood there were a number of weka running around in Mania.”
He had no concept where they’d originate from.
“We’re quite positive they didn’t fly here, however where they have actually originated from is among the truly intriguing bits that we wish to learn.
“So, after we caught the weka it was required to Brooklands Zoo and a DNA sample has actually been taken which need to offer us a pretty good concept regarding where it’s originated from.”
Hunt said unchecked reintroduction of weka to Taranaki was not without a drawback.
“Weka are excellent foraging birds and they’re almost a bit of a predator particularly in our national forest you understand it’s still rather a vulnerable environment still in in its sort of healing stage.
“There is a little bit of danger with weka entering into the national forest and preceding on the little invertebrates even around the coast on nesting seabirds.”
On The Other Hand, Pete Andrioli said he was not not missing his house visitor – who he’d nicknamed Wally – all that much.
“Not truly, not truly. It took a great deal of feeding. I was out digging worms every day and finding snails and numerous other things I needed to feed him.
“He utilized to like eggs. Somebody said ‘why do not you put him in the chook house with your chooks?’ and I said due to the fact that ‘I would not get any eggs he’d consume them all’.”
And After That there was the sound.
“It was rather a relief [him going] due to the fact that he’d begun to call the recently he was here.
“He’d be shrieking all night long, calling searching for a partner I expect. So, yeah he’s a loud little bugger.”
DOC asked that anybody who identified a weka in South Taranaki call 0800DOC HOT and report it.
