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kokako
held at the NWC (photo Times Age)
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A
captive breeding programme is underway at Mount Bruce, to
provide kokako for release into the wild. The first ever
release of kokako bred at Pukaha Mount Bruce took place
on Kapiti Island in 1994. Captive bred kokako have since
been released there and onto Tiritiri Matangi Island.
What
are kokako?
The
kokako belongs to the endemic New Zealand wattlebirds
(Callaeidae), an ancient family of birds which
includes the North and South Island saddleback and the
extinct huia. There are two sub-species, the North Island
kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) and the South
Island kokako (C. c. cinerea).
A dark bluish-grey bird with a long tail and short wings,
it has a pair of brightly coloured, fleshy wattles extending
from either side of its gape to meet below the neck. The
North Island kokako has blue wattles, while the extinct
South Island kokako had orange or yellow wattles. The
bird is not particularly good at flying and prefers to
use its powerful legs to leap and run through the forest.
Habitat
The North Island kokako is found mainly in mature mixed
podocarp-hardwood forests. There are approximately 500
pairs left, and they exist in several of the larger forests
of the North Island, and on Kapiti, Tiritiri and Little
Barrier Islands. The now extinct South Island kokako once
occurred in the western part of the South Island from
northwestern nelson to Fiordalnd.
Fight for survival
In the early 1900s the North Island kokako was common
in forests throughout the North Island while the South
Island kokako was widespread in the South Island and Stewart
Island. Primary causes of kokako decline were forest clearance
by settlers and the introduction of predators such as
rats, stoats and possums. Research has shown that female
kokako are particularly at risk of predation as they carry
out all incubation and brooding throughout a prolonged
(50-day) nesting period. Years of such predation have
resulted in populations that are predominantly male and
with consequent low productivity rates. The current "research
by management" approach has demonstrated that the
kokako decline can be reversed and populations maintained
on the mainland by innovative management of their habitat.
Kokako
facts
- Kokako
are renowned for the clarity and volume of their song
which carries far across the forest. In the early
morning, a pair may sing a duet for up to half an
hour with other kokako joining in to form a "bush
choir".
-
Male and female are similar in colour and size (weighing
about 230 grams).
-
They protect up to 8 hectares by singing and chasing
away invaders.
-
They eat leaves, fern-fronds, flowers, fruit and invertebrates.
-
In Maori myth, it was the kokako that gave Maui water
as he fought the sun. The
kokako filled its wattles with water and brought it
to Maui. His thirst quenched, Maui rewarded the kokako
by making its legs long and slender, enabling the
bird to bound through the forest with ease in search
of food.
Recovery
plan in action at Pukaha Mount Bruce
The long term goal for kokako is to “improve the
status of North Island kokako from endangered, by restoring
the national population to 1000 pairs by the year 2020,
in sustainable communities throughout the North Island.”
(Recovery Plan 1999-2009). Captive breeding supports the
recovery plan by producing birds for translocation, preserving
genetic lineages from threatened regional populations,
and enabling the public to see kokako and learn about
management of wild populations.
Our
plan, here at Pukaha Mount Bruce is to build the nucleus
of a thriving kokako population in Pukaha. Kokako were
released here for the first time in July 2003. Through
supporting the recovery plan we aim to establish a sustainable
population and advocate the conservation of the species
and their environment. The long term goal for Pukaha Mount
Bruce is to establish this population up to the carrying
capacity of the forest.
There
are two captive pairs of kokako at Pukaha Mount Bruce,
supporting two different projects.
One pair is held in a large off-display bush aviary and
the male of this pair, “Tamanui”, is one of
the last birds remaining from the Taranaki region. In
association with Otorohanga Kiwi House (who have Tamanui’s
only offspring – a male “Poutama”),
this captive breeding programme aims to preserve the Taranaki
genetic lineage. Eventually captive-bred birds with the
Taranaki genes will be released back into the Taranaki
region, once a suitably large and predator controlled
area has been established for them.
A second pair is on public display, and any young these
two produce will be released into the Pukaha Mount Bruce
forest to help boost the new and growing population. Kokako
were released here for the first time in July 2003, with
the transfer of 6 birds from the Waikato region (Mangatutu
forest). The intention is to establish a sustainable population
and advocate the conservation of the species and their
environment.
The long term goal for Pukaha Mount Bruce is to establish
a population of 80 pairs in the wild at Pukaha. The first
6 kokako were released in July 2003, followed by releases
of three more pairs in 2004. During the summer breeding
season the birds are followed to monitor their survival
and breeding success. During the 03/04 season two chicks
hatched in the wild at Pukaha Mount Bruce.
Find
out more about kokako here....
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