May 23, 2024
Kākāriki get new island home
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Forty kākāriki karaka have been released on predator-free Oruawairua/Blumine Island in the Marlborough Sounds to add genetic diversity to the existing population.
The orange-fronted parakeet is New Zealand’s rarest mainland forest bird.
Department of Conservation kākāriki karaka operations manager Wayne Beggs says the manu were raised at The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust and Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch.
Nine wild eggs from two clutches were also successfully collected from the island earlier in the breeding season and were hatched at Christchurch facility become part of the captive breeding programme.
Ngāi Tahu spokesperson Yvette Couch-Lewis says she is happy to see kākāriki karaka from Ngāi Tahu takiwā going to support and supplement the existing wild population of this taonga species on Oruawairua.
Ruihana Smith from Ngāti Kuia says project is about restoring the mauri and uplifting the mana of the motu.