Kokako flourish in Rotorua

Rotorua Review

RISING IN NUMBERS: Kokako.

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Kokako are beginning to spread beyond the Kaharoa Conservation Area on to neighbouring properties.

The Kaharoa Kokako Trust says that ecologists conducting the survey have identified several pairs of the native bird that have made their home in pockets of bush on privately-owned land outside the Conservation Area.

Kaharoa Kokako Trust chairman Graeme Young says this is a gratifying result that highlights the success of the community-based conservation initiative.

"We see this as a major milestone, because it shows that the local kokako population has increased to the extent that birds are now beginning to disperse into new areas," Mr Young says.

"They are even beginning to cross the Mangorewa Gorge and move into the Tauranga District."

The trust was formed by Kaharoa residents in 1998 to protect the few kokako remaining in the Kaharoa Forest, an area of Crown land managed by the Department of Conservation.

At this time, only 12 pairs of kokako were known to be living in the forest. By using voluntary labour to conduct pest control prior to the nesting season, the trust enables kokako to breed successfully.

Now over 60 breeding pairs exist in the Kaharoa Conservation Area, and many juveniles, with a further six pairs identified on neighbouring properties.

"This is an exciting result that bodes well for the recovery of kokako numbers in New Zealand, and it is a real credit to the many volunteers and funders who have helped us over the years to increase local kokako numbers," Mr Young says.

"The trust is now looking to work with property owners who are keen to protect the kokako on their land, since kokako will not survive unless they are protected from possums and rats."

- © Fairfax NZ News