Return of takahē – large, flightless bird – to alpine slopes of the South Island marks a conservation victory in New Zealand

In New Zealand, the return of wild takahē populations marks a cautiously celebrated conservation victory, and the return of one of the world’s rarest creatures. The birds had been formally declared extinct in 1898, their already-reduced population devastated by the arrival of European settlers’ animal companions: stoats, cats, ferrets and rats. After their rediscovery in 1948, their numbers are now at about 500, growing at about 8% a year.

  •  liv   ( @liv@beehaw.org ) English
    9•10 months ago

    Fun fact: Australia and New Zealand are 2,516 miles apart, and don’t share much of the same wildlife.

    The Indigenous people of Aotearoa make up 16% of the population so they are demographically a much larger political and social force than in the US or Australia.

    I’ve posted several articles about links between various Indigenous cultural traditions and ecological conservation over at !conservative@kbin.social if you’re interested.