Takahē chicks thriving on working farm near Queenstown

Their parents were only released into a patch of backcountry up the valley from Queenstown a year ago, but already the next generation is making themselves at home.

Five takahē chicks had made it through the tumultuous newborn stage to reach six months old, and the Department of Conservation is celebrating that result.

However DOC is also admitting the death of one of the young birds, as a result of an injury sustained during handling by a DOC ranger as part of conservation efforts.

The birds form part of one of only three wild populations of the native bird - so rare they were once thought to be extinct - in the country.

Together with Ngāi Tahu, DOC first released 18 takahē on tribal property Greenstone Station in August last year, before a further 10 birds were released to join them.

DOC takahē recovery operations manager Deidre Vercoe says attempting to set up a new wild population can take time, and success isn’t guaranteed, but so far signs are very positive.

“All indications are that the Greenstone Station population is successfully establishing. Most birds have not moved away from where they were released, they have successfully raised offspring, and there have been no adult deaths.

“The takahē are also in healthy condition, indicating this is good habitat for takahē and they are adapting well to their new environment.

“It’s particularly promising that eight out of 10 pairs started nesting within a few months of being released, exceeding our expectations and showing they are settled enough to breed. We believe seven to 10 chicks hatched but some young chicks commonly die in the first weeks and months of life from natural causes.

“It’s positive that five chicks survived to more than six months of age as this is a higher rate of survival than occurs at other wild sites, in Fiordland’s Murchison Mountains and Kahurangi National Park. Unfortunately, one of the five juveniles had to be euthanised due to injury."

Ms Vercoe says predator control is crucial for the survival of takahē in the wild, particularly heading into the late winter danger zone.

"We’re encouraged that trapping in the Greenstone Valley has so far helped prevent any of the adults being predated. But late winter is a vulnerable time as the number of rats in the area reduce due to lack of food, and stoats, ferrets and feral cats that prey on rats can then switch to native birds for food.”

Gail Thompson, a representative of Ngāi Tahu, acknowledges the work of the team on the ground carrying out the ongoing monitoring and predator control work needed to support the survival of the population.

“It has been wonderful to see how well the manu have settled into their new habitat on Greenstone Station during the past year, successfully hatching chicks and generally maintaining good health."

Anne and Stu Percy, who manage the Greenstone Station on behalf of Ngāi Tahu, have found that cattle and takahē are able to co-exist very well.

“Our working dogs have all been through the takahē aversion training programme,” Mrs Percy says.

“The DOC team have been great at keeping us up to date with their monthly reports on the birds, their GPS tracking and how they’re doing."

The injury to one of the juvenile takahē, which led to its euthanasia last month, happened when DOC rangers were catching birds to check their health and weight.

“The juvenile bird’s leg was unfortunately broken when being caught by an experienced DOC ranger to fit identification leg bands and a radio-transmitter,” Ms Vercoe says.

“Radio transmitters are important for tracking birds’ movements and are critical to understanding the longer-term population success of this new site.

“Transmitters last four to five years and over this time enable us to confirm if a bird is alive and to track its location. This information is vital for informing our predator control intensity, and to inform next steps of potentially expanding the population into surrounding areas."

Vets made multiple attempts to reset the bird's broken leg - but these were unsuccessful.

"The bird would not survive in the wild with this injury so for its welfare it was euthanised," Ms Vercoe says.

“While there is always an element of risk, it is extremely rare for takahē to be injured during capture due to the skill and experience of takahē team members.

"This is one of few times it has happened in many thousands of bird captures in the 20 years of the Takahē Recovery Programme.

"This is a reminder that intensive conservation is not without risk to individual animals, but also that takahē population recovery has only been made possible through this intensive management.”

The national takahē population now numbers close to 500, with annual growth around eight percent each year.

DOC's focus is now on establishing new wild populations to progress the goal of having multiple takahē populations living wild over large areas of their former range.

Alongside Ngāi Tahu again, DOC is currently considering whether takahē might be released in the nearby Rees Valley next year, providing predator control is keeping predator numbers low enough.

Main image (Supplied/DOC/Servane Kiss): Takahe Reina feeding a chick.