It’s a small gift, but of great significance.
Puketapu, Pukerangiora and Ngāti Tawhirikura hapu of Te Atiawa have given Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi a number of breeding pairs of titipounamu or rifleman, an ancient species of wren.
They were transferred last week from Taranaki Maunga to the predator free Bushy Park sanctuary, Tarapuruhi, near Whanganui.
Titipounamu is Aotearoa’s smallest bird weighing just under 7 grams, comparable in size to a golf ball.
They’re regarded as messengers of Tāne, god of the forest.
Titipounamu pairs bond for life and their high-pitched, buzzing call is at a frequency many people cannot hear.
Danny Broughton, from Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi, says manu translocations held to strengthen the relationship between hapu and Bushy Park Tarapuruhi.
