Weka on the loose in Christchurch

RUN WEKA RUN: A weka is on the lam in Christchurch.

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A weka is on the run in central Christchurch.

Net-wielding Department of Conservation (DOC) rangers scurried around the inner city yesterday trying to capture the endangered native bird after several reported sightings.

DOC has been fielding calls since Monday on sightings of what was thought to be a single West Coast weka.

On Thursday, staff at Dux de Lux in the Christchurch Arts Centre helped catch a weka, which was taken to Arthur's Pass.

Rangers were surprised to field more calls yesterday after another weka was seen a few blocks away.

"I honestly couldn't say how many there are," ranger Anita Spencer said while fossicking through a Worcester St garden.

"If someone has tried to re-establish them here, they might have grabbed a pair. It's a bit of a mystery."

DOC nets remained empty after a quick hunt of properties near the Arts Centre.

"I think it's been so scared," Spencer said. "It's been cornered. There have been a few people trying to catch it."

Two weeks ago, the Press reported that weka had found their way back to Arthur's Pass after an absence of more than 80 years.

DOC community affairs spokeswoman Sarah Mankelow said the birds seen in Christchurch had been released deliberately.

"They didn't get there on their own," she said. "I can't understand how anyone could think it's a good thing for a weka to be put in central Christchurch, where there are buildings, people, cars, trams and dogs."

Possessing protected birds is a crime under the Wildlife Act.

Anyone seeing weka in central Christchurch should call DOC on 0800362468.

- © Fairfax NZ News