North Island Kokako - endemic to NZ - are about the size of a crow, and are blue/grey in colour with a blue wattle. A once common species in New Zealand, it is now officially at risk. They were present on Mt Pirongia in the Pirongia Forest Park in the Waikato till the 1990's, when they were removed in the hope that they would breed more successfully elsewhere. As of early this month, a project carried out by the Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society has relocated 12 male and 8 female birds so far back to this area, with a goal to establish a 500 strong, self-sustaining, genetically diverse population of North Island Kokako. Mt Pirongia is a 1000ha, predator controlled zone maintained by the society. The birds are being sourced from the Pureora Forest Park. (In 1946 Pureora Forest... read more was one of the last native forests to be opened up for logging) Discussions are underway to return Pirongia-lineage Kokako currently on Tiritiri Matangi Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Once threatened with extinction, North Island Kokako numbers were down to 660 in 1999 but are now over 3000 according to Forest & Bird. Populations were recovering thanks to predator control and translocation programmes.
N.B. Photos 1 & 2 used per kind permission of "David Cook Wildlife Photography" [HYPERLINK@www.flickr.com]
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