1 September 2015

Get involved with kākā in Te Anau

The Department of Conservation (DOC) is organising a Kākā Picnic to celebrate the five juvenile kākā at Punanga Manu o Te Anau/ Te Anau Bird Sanctuary, prior to their release into ecosystem recovery projects later this month.

The event will be held at the Sanctuary on Saturday 13 September, from 10.30am.

Activities will include making the kākā breakfast, creating toys for them to play with, crafting kākā masks and playing some kākā themed games. Participants are encouraged to bring lunch and stay on to picnic in the Sanctuary’s grounds.

Michelle Crouchley, DOC Partnership Ranger, is organising the event to give Te Anau locals the chance to engage with the juvenile kākā prior to their release into the wild.

“It is a great chance to celebrate the success of the last kākā breeding season and the contribution the Sanctuary’s kākā are making to the conservation of their species.”

DOC is also looking for volunteers to formally observe the juvenile kākā and record the behaviours they exhibit. These observations will help build up a picture of how the juveniles are affected by visitors, what enrichment activities they enjoy, and how they socialise with each other.

The female juveniles currently housed at the Punanga Manu o Te Anau/Te Anau Bird Sanctuary will be released into Abel Tasman National Park as part of Project Janszoon. Abel Tasman has a residual population of male kākā and it is hoped that they will breed with the young females.

The male juvenile reared at the Sanctuary will be released into Orokonui Eco-sanctuary, near Dunedin, where a population of kākā is being established.

The resident pair of adult kākā, Charlie Brown and Bling, will be joined at the Sanctuary by a second pair in time for the 2015/16 breeding season.

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