NEW ZEALAND's BIRDS
Takahe
(Porphyrio mantelli)
(Photo: Manu Tours)
Rediscovered in 1948 in a remote valley in Fiordland, this is the only place where they occur naturally. It resembles an oversized pukeko but is of course flightless. This bird was photographed in the Murchison Mountains, but we see it on Tiritiri Matangi Island on our 'Aoteoroa' Tour. Still seriously endangered through predation by stoats and cats, a captive rearing unit was established to raise chicks from eggs taken in the wild until they are large enough to fend for themselves. Not normally open to the public, we visit this captive rearing unit, near Te Anau on our 'Islands of Survival' Tour.
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