Exciting News At Orokonui Ecosanctuary

by Sue Hensley

Orokonui has a nesting pair of kaka. Although it was thought the juveniles were too young to breed, a nest box was put up just in case. However the pair ignored that and found their own nest hole in a great location – by the stream and with lots of fruiting trees around. The female kaka incubates alone for about a month and is fed by her mate. The experts have warned against disturbing the female on the nest and so we'll just have to wait and see if anything comes of this first nesting attempt.

There will be a lot longer to wait for the six gravid jewelled geckos to give birth as they are pregnant for nine months and will give birth to live young just before winter. Things move slowly in the reptile world!

The January pest monitoring round showed up a couple of problem areas as was expected, with one mouse print and at least one hedgehog. A lot of effort over this month will go into trapping and rechecking those areas.

The Visitor and Education Centre has developed considerably this last month with the concrete foundations poured, part of the deck built and three recycled shipping containers swung into position. These will provide the structure for the classroom. The Centre is expected to be completed in July and officially opened next Spring.

The Education Programme has received 3 years' funding from a highly contestable fund of the Ministry of Education. This will allow the programme to develop further and deliver to more schools.

The Ecosanctuary is open exclusively for guided tours. Bookings are essential. Tours cost $20 adult, $10 child with half price for members. Tours are for 1½ - 2 hours for a maximum of 8 people per guide. Come and see this fantastic forest restoration project in progress, learn about the changes that have already been made and support the development of the Ecosanctuary.

For enquiries the office number is 482 1755. For further information on the Ecosanctuary, visit www.orokonui.org.nz or see our box at the Blueskin Bay Library.

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