Takahē Recovery
Takahē Recovery is a governmental project under the jurisdiction of the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC). We travelled to the south of South Island to see first hand the incredible work that the team at Burwood are doing to conserve, protect and train these incredible birds.
Takahē are the world’s largest member of the rail family and were once prolific across New Zealand. However, pressures from predation and habitat loss have seen serious declines in population numbers. So much so that they were thought to be extinct twice only to be rediscovered each time. DOC now run a programme of captive breeding and training to ensure that we never lose these beautiful birds again.
So what exactly is the Takahē? and why is it so special? Takahē Recovery aims to bring back these amazing birds from the brink of extinction (again!)
Takahē Bootcamp aims to give the birds the best possible chance of survival when they are released back into the wild through a variety of training environments.
Although not used anymore, Takahē Recovery used to be very hands on with the rearing of the animals. Glen talks us through how the hand rearing centre used to work.
Burwood is the centre for Takahē Recovery. Where the birds are brought to or reared before begin trained and released into the wild to continue the conservation efforts.
Sanctuary Sites are a key component of the project. they allow safe locations for Takahē to exist and breed away from predators Individuals in these areas are still used for ongoing breeding programmes.
Takahē are difficult to find organically and so individuals which are raised and released are often tracked using radio transmitters. However, new technologies have made the process even easier still!
