Takahe

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Takahe

The Takahe was thought to be yet another extint species in New Zealand, until a small group was found in the remote Murchison Mountains in Fiordland. There is a small breeding station at the Wildlife Center near Te Anau, and I passed by as I was walking back to Te Anau after the last leg of the Kepler Track. Funny looking creatures! Quoting the New Zealand Department of Conservation:

This unique bird, the largest living member of the rail family, was once thought to be extinct. There were only four recorded sightings of takahē last century and then none were seen until 1948. In that year a few pairs were rediscovered in the alpine tussock grasslands of the Murchison Mountains, Fiordland.

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