New deal for Campbell Island Teal

Forest and Bird, Volume 22, Issue 2, 1 May 1991, Page 3

New deal for Campbell Island Teal

Tim Higham

HE CAMPBELL ISLAND TEAL — probably the rarest species of duck in the world — will have its chances of survival greatly increased by a rescue programme completed recently by the Department of Conservation. Seven teal, including two breeding pairs, were caught on Dent Island, part of the subantarctic Campbell Island group, in November. The birds were transported to Lyttelton on the New Zealand navy ship HMNZS Waikato and then flown to Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre, near Wellington. One of the established pair has gone to a North Island private breeder with experience working with the species. Attempts at breeding over the 1990/91 summer have not succeeded. Campbell Island teal were thought to have

become extinct in the 1940s, but were rediscovered on tiny Dent Island in 1975. The population is estimated at less than 100 birds. Two male and one female Campbell Island teal were brought to Mt Bruce in 1985, but the female has refused to mate. Southland conservation officer Pete McClelland says the decision to remove some birds for captive rearing was carefully considered and should not affect the viability of the Dent Island population. Six field workers used tape recordings of teal calls and nets to capture the birds for transfer. The Campbell Island teal is a small flightless duck about a third of the size of a mallard. It is dark brown and lives among the subantarctic megaherbs and waist-high tussock, probably feeding on insects and seeds. Despite searches of other islets and the

main Campbell Island, the teal has been recorded only on the sheer-sided Dent Island. Mr McClelland said field staff were concerned that slips induced by unusually heavy rain in 1975 had left bare areas which greatly increased the risk of teal predation by southern skuas. While on Campbell Island, Department of Conservation staff also killed more than 1,200 sheep which have run wild since farming was abandoned in 1931. Dividing fences were erected on the island in 1970 and 1984 to restrict sheep to one end of the island and let the unique and fragile subantarctic flora recover from grazing. Mr McClelland said fewer than ten sheep remained on the island, and would be removed in a subsequent mop-up operation. x