26 January 2006

The wild kokako population in the Pukaha Mount Bruce forest is close to becoming self sustaining with the arrival of three more chicks this season.

The second pair of kokako chicks to be conceived in the wild at Pukaha Mount Bruce in 60 years fledged from their nest earlier this week and another is expected to fledge within the next fortnight.

The recently hatched chicks join 17 other wild kokako flying free in the Pukaha Mount Bruce forest, bringing the total wild population to 20 birds. They include 15 birds transferred to the forest from the Mangatutu ecological area in Waikato's Pureora Forest Park and the Mapara Wildlife Reserve in the Waikato, and two chicks produced in the forest in January 2004. The latest arrivals are the progeny of a pair of kokako from Mapara which were released in September last year. The other chick was conceived by the same Mangatutu pair that produced the chicks in 2004.

Department of Conservation biodiversity unit ranger Tony Silbery said the population could be just a season away from becoming sustainable.

“We are confident that the population is becoming sustainable now that we have 20 wild birds. If we continue pest control at current levels we can expect to see a cumulative increase in bird numbers over the coming years. For kokako twenty breeding pairs is considered a sustainable population and we are really only one good season away from reaching that goal.”

Mr Silbery said the chicks were in tip-top condition.

“The forest is in good health and all the chicks were plump and well conditioned in preparation for their first flight from the nest. We also noticed the parents of the two fledged chicks gorging themselves on coprosma berries today, and are hopeful that they will nest again this season.”

Department of Conservation biodiversity programme manager Geoff Underwood said kokako taken as pairs from Mangatutu and Mapara were likely to remain as separate breeding pairs initially.

“The kokako came with unique ‘regional' dialects which had evolved over a number of years, so we would expect that Mapara kokako will have difficulty understanding Mangatutu kokako and vice-versa. However, as the population becomes established, a ‘Pukaha Mount Bruce dialect' will develop and younger birds bred at Pukaha will inter-breed with any other kokako in the forest, regardless of its parentage, bringing greater genetic diversity to the population.”

Once wide-spread in the lower North Island, kokako became extinct from this range some 60 years ago, with the last sighting reported by Mt Bruce takahe recovery pioneer Elwyn Welch in the mid-1940s. Over the past 15 years, remnant populations have been managed and have recovered to become viable, however with just 1200 birds known, it remains an endangered species.

Ship rats and possums are the major causes of kokako's decline and have been the target of an intensive pest control effort over the past three years to allow successful kokako nesting.

ENDS

For more information please contact Geoff Underwood, Pukaha Mount Bruce on +64 6375 8004.

More information about Pukaha Mount Bruce.

Visit the Pukaha Mount Bruce website: www.mtbruce.org.nz