PHOTO: JAKE OSBORNE
For the first time in more than a century Ngāi Tahu kākāpō will be living on Maungatautari near Kemureti (Cambridge) under the protection of local mana whenua.
Four male kākāpō have been translocated from Whenua Hou (Codfish Island) near Rakiura (Stewart Island) to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari.
It’s the first time the manu (bird) will be living on the mainland in nearly four decades.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Deputy Kaiwhakahaere Matapura Ellison said the translocation was a major milestone for the taonga species, which doubled to reach a high of 252 manu over the past seven years.
“First envisioned more than 15 years ago, this move aims to safeguard the future of our vulnerable kākāpō,” Matapura said.
Maungatautari is the only location on the North Island with the potential for a kākāpō population to be established.
At 3240 hectares, it is the largest predator-fenced habitat in the country.
As mana whenua of Maungatautari, Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Raukawa, Ngāti Hauā, and Waikato will watch over the kākāpō for Ngāi Tahu, caring for the manu as if they are their own tamariki.
“Unfortunately, kākāpō are incredibly vulnerable to predators such as rats and stoats, and our predator free offshore breeding islands are almost at capacity,” Matapura said.
“We must now send our kākāpō to iwi and hapū partners in the north who have generously offered to protect our taonga through the concept of whāngai, the tikanga of fostering another tamariki.”
Ngāi Tahu and the Department of Conservation work in partnership to preserve and restore the mauri of the manu through the Kākāpō Recovery Programme.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu kākāpō recovery group representative Tāne Davis has been working with kākāpō for 18 years. He attributes a blend of mātauranga Māori and Western science to the success story of the manu.
“To keep the mauri of our taonga alive we have had to tweak our tikanga.
“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,” Tāne Davis said.
“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 Rūnaka o Awarua representative Gail Thompson said the kākāpō translocation had the full support of Kaitiaki Rōpū ki Murihiku, who represented the four southern Papatipu Rūnanga and were kaitiaki of the kākāpō.
“We are very protective of our taonga and are reluctant to see them leave our rohe, but we know this is the right decision.
“As mana whenua, we are committed to making Rakiura (Stewart Island) predator free, so we can establish a strong population of kākāpō closer to home.”
The historic translocation was marked with a pōwhiri at Pōhara Marae and celebration at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari on Wednesday.
Department of Conservation operations manager for kākāpō Deidre Vercoe said returning the critically endangered nocturnal ground-dwelling parrot to the mainland was significant for all New Zealand, and a shared success story for all partners involved.
Although the sanctuary is fenced, the kākāpō are still considered wild birds.
“Kākāpō are masters at camouflage, so it is very unlikely visitors to the sanctuary will come across them. However, the potential to hear their distinctive ‘booming’ calls across the Waikato landscape for the first time in generations is an important milestone,” Deidre said.
“It’s an exciting glimpse into what the future could be for our rare native birds, while serving as a reminder of why Predator Free 2050 is such an important goal.
“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, so to have them now returning to the mainland is a major achievement for all involved.”
The kākāpō travelled with Air New Zealand, flying from Queenstown to Auckland. Air New Zealand is a national partner with DOC and has supported DOC to fly more than 4200 threatened species and conservation dogs since 2012.
