Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Willowbank gets Takahe

zooboy28

zooboy28

Well-Known Member
Willowbank recieved a pair (unsure on sexes) of endangered Takahe today, according to TV One News tonight, though I can't find any reference to this online yet. They are 'retired' from breeding and will be used for advocacy and education. They are getting a custom-built exhibit, but I'm not sure if this has been built yet.

I think the only other captive Takahe in NZ are at Mt Bruce & Te Anau wildlife centres, but they can be seen on some offshore islands aswell, eg. Tiritiri Matangi. The main breeding population is located in Fiordland. The Department of Conservation is making takahe available to zoos as they retire. Auckland, Hamilton, Orana and Otarahonga Kiwi House are on the list to recieve these birds in the future.

I haven't seen any Takahe yet, must make a trip to one of these places sometime soon.
 
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I've been waiting for these guys to arrive (much easier to get photos of them in Chch than having to head up to Kapiti). I'd heard they were supposed to be arriving in November so was a bit surprised to see them on the news tonight. The enclosure is done, but I don't know if they're going on show just yet though. This is quite exciting in-as-much as Willowbank is the first non-DoC captive facility to display takahe (the only other captive ones on show are, as you say, Mt. Bruce and Te Anau); Tiritiri Matangi has takahe and is run by a trust (i.e. not DoC-run) but that's not a zoo of course. Karori in Wellington is also getting takahe this year.

I'll be heading over to Willowbank as soon as I can once they're on show to get some snaps.
 
Rare NZ birds seek comfort in retirement > New Zealand.
Rare NZ birds seek comfort in retirement
23 Sep 2010

Two of the rarest birds in the world have announced their retirement and are moving house so they can spend their twilight years in the comfort of Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch.

On Friday (24 Sept), Hamilton and Guy, a pair of rare New Zealand takahe, will leave the Department of Conservation (DOC) Burwood Bush rearing unit in Southland and move to Willowbank where they will become ambassadors for takahe conservation.

The pair will take an Air New Zealand flight from Invercargill and receive a full Māori welcome when they arrive at their specially prepared new home at Willowbank, the only private wildlife park in the country where the public can view takahe.

Welcome and house warming
The two famous rare birds will be accompanied from their breeding area in Southland by Te Runanga o Oraka Aparima and their DOC carers and welcomed to the Reserve by local runanga (council) Te Runanga o Te Ngai Tuahuriri.

The Hon Kate Wilkinson, Minister of Conservation will perform house warming duties - opening the new display and enclosure which has been purpose built for the takahe.

Guy and Hamilton will be released into their specially designed and planted area, which closely resembles their natural habitat, by Nick Ackroyd, Head of the Native New Zealand Area at Willowbank.

Story boards in the new enclosure will tell the tale of takahe - a bird that was once thought extinct and then discovered again.

Guy and Hamilton will conduct an open home policy at Willowbank - allowing the public to freely view their living quarters and lifestyle.

Plight of the takahe
Takahe were rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains of Fiordland in 1948 and although the population fell to just over 100 birds in the 1980s an intensive captive breeding programme at Burwood Bush has helped increase the population to about 230 adult birds plus juveniles.

At the breeding unit chicks are hatched and hand reared using puppets before being fostered to adult takahe who teach them essential feeding skills. These feeding skills help them survive the sometimes harsh alpine conditions they encounter once released into Fiordland.

Phil Tisch, Department of Conservation Takahe Programme Manager says Hamilton and Guy have played an essential role in the programme.

"Hamilton is the Bear Grylls of the takahe world. He and Guy have taught survival skills to foster families of takahe chicks for over 10 years. They really have been our premier foster parents."

He says the couple is being retired from Burwood because, although they have still contributed as foster parents, they no longer produce chicks and their territory is needed for a breeding pair.

Willowbank is one of two sites from throughout New Zealand recently selected to receive takahe as part of the Department of Conservation takahe advocacy programme.

History of Hamilton and Guy
Hamilton was hatched at Burwood on 18th December 1992 from an egg collected from the Murchison Mountains.

Guy, a female, was hatched at Burwood in 15 November 1995. She first met Hamilton as a 12 week old chick and once the other ‘foster juveniles’ were removed she remained as Hamilton’s mate.

Guy and Hamilton’s first chick was hatched in 1997 and was named McKenzie. Since then they have produced a large number of chicks. Each season the first clutch of eggs was removed to the incubator, with the second clutch left with the birds to hatch.
Hamilton and Guy have fostered a family of up to six chicks every year since 1997. This year they will retain their foster family right up until the time they go into quarantine prior to the transfer to Willowbank.
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Chlidonias said:
I've been waiting for these guys to arrive (much easier to get photos of them in Chch than having to head up to Kapiti). I'd heard they were supposed to be arriving in November so was a bit surprised to see them on the news tonight. The enclosure is done, but I don't know if they're going on show just yet though. This is quite exciting in-as-much as Willowbank is the first non-DoC captive facility to display takahe (the only other captive ones on show are, as you say, Mt. Bruce and Te Anau); Tiritiri Matangi has takahe and is run by a trust (i.e. not DoC-run) but that's not a zoo of course. Karori in Wellington is also getting takahe this year.

I'll be heading over to Willowbank as soon as I can once they're on show to get some snaps.
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Oh good, I will hopefully make it to Karori this summer, so I hope to see them there! Look forward to your snaps of Hamilton & Guy at Willowbank.
 
Karori's informational pamphlet says their takahe are arriving "late 2010".

Here's a link to their site regarding the takahe: 4/2/10 Takahe to find retirement home in Wellington
Two of the world's rarest birds are set to spend their twilight years at the ZEALANDIA wildlife safe haven in Wellington.
They may look like a pukeko (swamp hen) on steroids, but the flightless takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) are a real New Zealand oddity. Once thought to be extinct, takahē were rediscovered as recently as 1948 in a remote Fiordland valley. Thanks to an intensive programme of captive breeding, translocations, stoat control and deer culling spearheaded by the Department of Conservation, the takahē population has seen a gradual increase from a low of 112 birds in 1981 to the current population of 225 birds.

"We had a couple of good looking birds that just weren't interested in being parents any more" said Phil Tisch, DoC's Programme Manager Takahe.

"Bunchy and Orbell have produced a number of chicks over the years but not for the last 4 seasons so its time for them to move to greener pastures to make way for a couple keen young things who need a home! And in many ways the move from Mana to ZEALANDIA is just as important for takahe conservation as producing chicks. We're hoping that by having takahe on display at one of New Zealand's premier display sites more New Zealanders will become familiar with the takahē story and by doing so will help us save the takahē."

ZEALANDIA, the groundbreaking native wildlife sanctuary in Wellington, was one of two sites in New Zealand selected to receive takahē as part of the Department of Conservation's advocacy programme (the other being Willowbank in Christchurch). Bunchy and Orbell (the latter named after the scientist Dr Geoffrey Orbell who rediscovered the takahē) will help Rangers at the sanctuary educate visitors about the role of conservation in protecting our rarest species.

“Very few New Zealanders and even fewer tourists have seen a takahē in the wild” said ZEALANDIA chief executive Nancy McIntosh-Ward

“Most takahē outside of captivity live on off-shore islands or in remote mountain reserves. We’re very excited to have the chance to share these beautiful birds with our visitors, and raise awareness about their long road to recovery. Thankfully, we have been given a second chance with the takahē, but in almost every other case extinction means 'lost forever'. Giving visitors a chance to see an animal we came so close to losing really hammers home ZEALANDIA's central message."

The pair are due to arrive at ZEALANDIA later this year.
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the takahe at Willowbank are on display as of today. I'll probably go over there later in the week or maybe next week to get some photos
 
I went to Willowbank the other day and I've put some photos of the takahe pair in the gallery: Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Gallery

The male takahe is very friendly, so much so that it was difficult to get photos of him at first as he insisted on standing directly at the wire making the fantastic whoomping noise that they make (sounds like an amplified heartbeat). After a while he got bored of me and wandered further off. The female is quite shy and it took quite a while before she got up the nerve to come forwards. Very very cool birds.
 
Nice set of photos Chlidonias. Takahe along with the aye-aye and thylacine was an enigmatic species which I assumed would be extinct in my lifetime. Two out of three ain't bad. Now I'll just have to get over to NZ to see them.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Perhaps you can put in a review of Willowbank WR?
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I have been thinking about that but due to...shall we say "professional reasons"...it would have to be a very different review to those I normally do because I can't be as straightforward in criticisms etc. I'll see what I can come up with.
 
Great photos! Wish I could get down to Christchurch, but I'm stuck in Auckland on a tight schedule. Maybe next time.

:p

Hix
 
Chlidonias said:
I have been thinking about that but due to...shall we say "professional reasons"...it would have to be a very different review to those I normally do because I can't be as straightforward in criticisms etc. I'll see what I can come up with.
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Accepted, I understand if you choose not to.

I have qualms no dissimilar at home *** for not doing any reviews (even if I could come up with wonderful behind the scenes stories) at all.
 
Chlidonias said:
I guess you've not got the time to pop across to Tiritiri Matangi then?
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Nope.

Landed in Auckland at 16:00 on Friday, flew out the next morning at 09:50.

I'm now in Niue til next Saturday.

:p :p :p

Hix
 

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Karori/Zealandia has finally got their takahe pair, a little bit later than expected
Takah? given a second chance - Story - Home - 3 News
28 Jan 2011

Takahē were once thought to be extinct but now the flightless, native bird’s population is growing with two more being released into the wild today.

The takahē, which looks like a “pukeko on steroids”, were only rediscovered in the wild in 1948 in a remote Fiordland valley.

“We have been given a second chance with the takahē, but in almost every other case extinction means 'lost forever’,” says Zealandia chief executive Nancy McIntosh-Ward.

Today, after an intensive programme of captive breeding, translocations, stoat control and deer culling spearheaded by the Department of Conservation, the takahē population has seen a gradual increase from a low of 112 birds in 1981 to the current population of 225 birds.

The two birds being released into Zealandia, a wildlife sanctuary in Wellington, are a retired breeding pair from DOC-managed Mana Island which have not produced chicks for some years.

They are being taken out of the breeding population to create room for younger birds.

Nicknamed Puffin and T2, the birds will help rangers at the sanctuary educate visitors about the role of conservation in protecting our rarest species.

The takahē is the 17th native species to be re-introduced to the urban sanctuary and by far the rarest species to be released.

"Very few New Zealanders and even fewer tourists have seen a takahē in the wild," says Ms McIntosh-Ward.

"Most takahē outside of captivity live on off-shore islands or in remote mountain reserves. We're very excited to have the chance to share these beautiful birds with our visitors, and raise awareness about their long road to recovery.”

The takahē transfer has been made possible with financial support from principal sponsor Mitsubishi Motors; the Karori Brooklyn Community Charitable Trust and The Lion Foundation.
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the Orokonui EcoSanctuary down at Dunedin has a pair of takahe now also:
Arrival of takahe 'dream come true' | Otago Daily Times Online News : Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News
23 May 2012

A pair of flightless birds flew south yesterday, to Orokonui Ecosanctuary near Dunedin, where they became instant media stars.
The takahe, named Quammen and Te Hoiere, travelled by boat, car and plane to Dunedin from Maud Island in the northwest reaches of the Marlborough Sounds before taking their first tentative steps into a special enclosure at the ecosanctuary about 5pm.

Under the watchful eye of media and about 25 invited guests, the birds toured the home where they will stay until they are released into the wider ecosanctuary on Sunday.

Ecosanctuary operations manager Chris Baillie said it had taken a long time and much work to get the birds to the ecosanctuary, and to see them arrive was like a "dream come true".

She was sure the birds, which were both known to be "very" friendly, would be readily seen by the public and would quickly become a popular attraction.

Department of Conservation coastal Otago area manager Robin Thomas said their arrival was an amazing example of what could be achieved by partnerships like that between the ecosanctuary, Doc, local iwi, and Mitre 10 (which sponsors the takahe recovery programme), which had brought the birds south.

It was a great opportunity for people to get up close to the birds and understand the significance of the recovery programme, he said.

Doc takahe ranger Martin Genet, from Te Anau, who picked up the birds from Dunedin Airport and took them to the ecosanctuary, said having the birds so close to Dunedin and accessible was a golden opportunity for the public, as they were usually only found in Fiordland or on islands where people could not see them so easily.

Ms Baillie said Te Hoiere was a real "lady's man", but none of his six partners had managed to produce a fertile egg. Quammen had a mate for eight and a-half years, but none of their 18 eggs hatched.

"So now they are retired from Maud Island ... to become ambassadors for takahe conservation."

A day of events for the public, including visits to the enclosure, will precede the release of the birds into the wider ecosanctuary at 1.20pm on Sunday.
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Willowbank's takahe have been all over the place recently it seems. I'm not sure of the specifics (this is what happens when travelling!), but a new female called Bunchy came in to pair with Hamilton (I don't know what happened to Guy, but Bunchy was the one which had been at Karori).

Now both Hamilton and Bunchy are gone (?) and the two birds at Willowbank are female Mororo who came down from a temporary stay at Nga Manu (Nga Manu Nature Reserve Newsletter) and was paired with a male called Teebee who was thought to be too old to breed but they have instead produced a chick! (in November 2013)
Zoo shocked by unexpected takahe hatching - Story - NZ News - 3 News
Miracle takahe chick to be sexed - Story - NZ News - 3 News
 
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