Author(s): William Lee & Ian Jamieson

NZ Non Fiction

Polynesian settlement of the islands of New Zealand about 1000 years ago and large-scale European colonisation in the 19th century caused massive environmental changes for indigenous animals. Fifty-five species of endemic birds, or 41 percent of land and freshwater species, were lost. In response to these extinctions and the marked population decline of many extant species, national government agencies supported conservation initiatives throughout the 20th century. For more than fifty years attempts to conserve the takahe, a large, flightless, herbivourous bird, have pioneered techniques for managing protected natural areas, habitat manipulation, captive rearing, wild releases, and island translocations. The story of the takahe since its rediscovery has been an integral part of the process of conservation science and management in New Zealand. This book reflects that story.