Takahe impasse to clear?

Forest and Bird, Volume 18, Issue 3, 1 August 1987, Page 17

Takahe impasse to clear?

By October the Conservation Department would like to release into the wild some of the juvenile takahe they have been raising at Burwood Bush near Lake Te Anau. This would form the basis of a second wild population in Fiordland and provide a safeguard should any mishap befall the 200strong Murchison Mountains population. However, as readers will recall (see Forest & Bird November 1986), the Deerstalkers Association has claimed that the release will be illegal, since under the National Parks Act no animals can be introduced into a Wilderness Area. The area where the flightless birds are to be located — the Edith and Glaisnock catchments are ina Wilderness Area. The National Parks and Reserves Authority has therefore recommended to the Southland National Parks Board that the Edith and Glaisnock catchments be excluded from the Wilderness Area, which will now be expanded to the north to compensate. The Society is very pleased with the plan. It is vital that the juvenile takahe are given a home in their natural habitat as soon as possible, rather than keeping them at the lower altitude Burwood Bush.