Kiwi and Pāteke returned to Dusky Sound
The Fiordland Conservation Trust, supported by the Fiordland Lobster Company and the Department of Conservation have recently released Pāteke (brown Teal) and Little Spotted Kiwi to Dusky Sound.
Twenty pāteke were released in May onto Resolution Island/Mauikatau. Pāteke are New Zealand’s rarest waterfowl and until recently were listed as Nationally Endangered. Thanks to projects like this one, pāteke numbers are beginning to increase and the population is beginning to recover. Despite the recovery there are still very few sites on the South Island with wild populations of Pāteke so it is great to have them back in Dusky Sound.
Little Spotted Kiwi were first released on to Anchor Island in Dusky Sound in 2015. The recent release of another 12 birds is an important milestone as it brings the founding population to 40 individual, this will help keep the genetics of the population healthy and increase their chances of long term survival. The birds appear to have settled in well with the first chick found in February 2016.
Posted on: Wednesday, 5 July 2017
