Kākāpō Elwin by Dani Whitaker/DOC
Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari neighbours are being offered “aversion training’ for their dogs – as part of the project to establish the North Island’s first breeding colony for over a century.
Community support for the sanctuary has been a key to its success – and thanks to the publicity it generates, one of its taonga is back in safe hands after hatching an escape plan.
Since being moved from the bottom of the South Island, the colony of male kākāpō have been working out ways to breach the perimeter fence on Maungatautari. Several have managed it, putting themselves in danger from dogs – and vehicles.
Elwin the kākāpō breached the security fence on the mountain last week – and was found thanks to an eagle eyed tanker driver.
Tanker driver, Te Awamutu College old boy Tyler Lindsay. spotted Elwin the kākāpō late at night.
“At first I thought it was a turkey,” Tyler Lindsay told the News
It was after 1.30am and he was on his Fonterra milk pick up in Scott Rd when he rounded a bend to see Elwyn in the process of crossing the road.
Lindsay was thankful his speed was slow enough at the time to stop. He got out of his vehicle, but Elwin had already gone bush.
“It took me a second to work it out because I’ve never seen a kākāpō, but I have come across posts about them escaping – that’s what made me think it was one.”
He alerted the department of conversation hotline and emailed Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari.
The conversation on the hotline clearly took the call centre by surprise – “she said it has to be a kea – but I explained the big green parrot had come out of Maungatautari and she realised what had happened.”
Rangers found Elwin, none the worse for his outing.
Tyler, 32, a former Te Awamutu College student, lives in Rukuhia and works as a tanker driver and contract slaughterman.
Ten kākāpō were originally released on the maunga, but since the escapes three have been returned to the South Island.
A media release from Sanctuary Mountain applauded Tyler Lindsay’s help and noted “we have been recently reminded that conservation is and must be a community effort.”
“Trialling new habitat for kākāpō is an important step in the wider kākāpō recovery programme and we are grateful for the ongoing collaboration between the Kākāpō Recovery team, Ngāi Tahu, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari and iwi and the vigilance of our community.”
Now that work could see dogs in the area trained to be part of the caring programme too.
“For residents surrounding Maungatautari, we are in the process of contacting you and offering the opportunity for dogs to have kākāpō aversion training as this is considered an area of risk,” the media release added.
- If you spot injured native wildlife – or an escaped kākāpō call the Doc hotline on 0800 362 468. For non-native wildlife: contact the SPCA or a wildlife rehabilitator.
