Today fourteen breeding pairs of Taiko are
now known to be established in the forests of the Tuku valley. Most
of these pairs will attempt to breed each year.
Without the continuing work to protect the Taiko from the
introduced predators the chicks and adults chances of survival would
be greatly reduced. This page details the continuing work
being carried out to protect this species.
A Taiko chick 5 weeks before fledging
The on going work being undertaken by the New
Zealand Government's, Department of Conservation and the Chatham
Island Taiko Trust to secure the future for the Taiko can be divided
into the following areas;
The majority of known breeding burrows are
now located within the Tuku Nature Reserve (see map), an area
of 1,238 hectares ( 2,900 acres ), donated by the landowners Manuel
and Evelyn Tuanui in 1984. A further 200 hectares of forested
land adjacent to the reserve was covenanted by Bruce and Liz Tuanui
in 1993. In the near future another 1,100 hectares of land
is to be covenanted by the neighbouring landowners; Ron Seymour,
Robert Holmes and Neville Day to further protect the breeding
grounds of the Chatham Island Taiko. Such strong support
by the local landowners is vital for the future of the Taiko.
The main Chatham Island showing the Tuku Nature
Like the majority of New Zealand the early settlers
to the Chatham Islands brought with them an assortment of animals
which upset the natural balance of the local wildlife. Some introductions
were deliberate, such as the Possum and Weka, some like the rat
arrived wherever humans went as uninvited hitchhikers. The
New Zealand Government's Department of Conservation now employs
a full time manager to oversee the conservation efforts within
the reserve and adjoining covenants, with a further 2 staff employed
during the summer breeding season (September - May). The majority
of the conservation work within the Reserve is directed at keeping
the number of introduced predators down, to give the native birds
the best opportunity to breed and expand their populations.
As well as the Chatham Island Taiko the Tuku Nature Reserve is
home to several other endangered bird species only found in the
Chatham Islands. These include the endemic sub-species of
: parea (Chatham Pigeon), (Hemiphaga chathamensis), Chatham
Island fantail,(Rhipidura penitus), Chatham Island warbler
(Gerygone albofrontata)and the kakariki (Red Crowned Parakeet)
For more detailed information and photographs
on the Tuku Nature Reserve click Here
Reducing the number of predators during the
Taiko's breeding season is the main focus of the work currently
undertaken by DoC, (Department of Conservation). This is
done by 2 methods. One is a trap line around the catchment
of the Tuku river 14 kilometres in length with over 200 traps,
checked every day over the summer months. Feral cats, Possums
and Weka are the predators targeted in this operation. The
other method is focused around each breeding burrow and targets
the rats in the months when the Taiko chicks first hatch out,
until they are large enough that rats are no longer a threat.
This consists of a grid surrounding each burrow with bait stations
30 metres apart for 120 metres in each direction.
Rat poison is placed in each station and replaced on a regular
basis to keep fresh. This intensive protection has resulted
in no Taiko chicks having been predated since increased management
began in 1996.
Feral Cat (Felis catus)
Feral cats are wide spread throughout the forests
on both Chatham Island and Pitt Island and are the descendants
of the domestic cats brought over by the Europeans.
With their keen sense of smell and excellent night vision,
Taiko adults and chicks have no chance if they are caught
on the ground by these efficient predators. Feral
cats pose the greatest threat to over a dozen species endemic
to the Chathams. Over the breeding season around 100
feral cats are removed each year from the Tuku Reserve.
Brush tailed Possum (Trichosurus
The Possum was introduced to the Chathams in
1911 (King 1990), from the east coast of Australia.
As with the rest of New Zealand, the idea was to establish
a fur industry. They may be associated with the
decline of the Taiko, as possums are known to take eggs
and chicks of birds (Brown et al.1993).
Other forest birds such as the parea, (Chatham
Island Pigeon) Hemiphaga novaseelandiae chathamensis,
have benefited greatly with the removal of large numbers
of possums, with their population increasing from 42 parea
ten years ago to over 200 today.
Ship Rat (Rattus rattus)
(Rattus exulans) Ship Rat (Rattus rattus) Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus) Mouse (Mus mus)
All 4 species of rodents found in New Zealand
are present on the Chatham Island. The kiore (Polynesian
Rat) arrived with the Moriori, the first inhabitants of
the islands, the other two species of rat and the mouse
arrived with the Europeans. Ship rats and kiore thrive
in high numbers throughout the bush and are known to take
both the chicks and eggs of other petrel species (Imber
Weka (Gallirallus australis hectori)
The Weka was introduced to Chatham Island from
the South Island of New Zealand in 1905 (Oliver 1955).
The sub-species introduced, Buff Weka, G.a. hectori
was endemic to the eastern South Island but disappeared
from there by the 1930's, however today it thrives in
large numbers on both Chatham Island and Pitt Island.
Weka are known to catch and kill Pterodroma petrels and
have been implicated in the destruction of the colony
of Cook's Petrel (Pterodroma cookii) on Codfish
Island (O'Brian 1990). There was also evidence that a
weka was responsible for the disappearance of a Taiko
chick from a breeding burrow during the 1995/96 breeding
season. Weka feathers having been found in the entrance
of the burrow at the time the chick vanished.
Taiko Trust Expeditions
Taiko Expeditions have been coming to the
Chatham Islands since December 1969, well before official
recognition of the Taikos existence. These small privately
funded groups persisted on faith alone until 1974, when a dedicated
group of 4 volunteers they saw what they believed were 2 Taiko
flying in the lights of a spotlight after being attracted in.
In 1978 expedition members were finally rewarded when they managed
to captured 2 birds using spotlights. After the Taikos existence
was proven the emphasis of the expeditions shifted to finding
the breeding grounds somewhere in the remote rugged forests of
the Tuku valley. These were discovered in 1987 with the
use of tiny radio transmitters which were attached to the tail
feathers of birds captured at the light site, then following these
signals inland to the breeding burrows.
Today the Chatham Island Taiko Expedition has
evolved into the Chatham Island Taiko Trust, who's work now include:
research, publicity, sponsorship as well as expeditions every
2 years to find further breeding burrows. The next telemetry
expedition to the Chathams to radio track birds to new breeding
areas is scheduled for September 2003.
The spotlight capture method
spotlight directed skywards, is positioned on a spur overlooking
the Tuku river on a flight path that Taiko use. Two
people on the ground hold handheld spotlights (turned off)
and wait patiently for a Taiko to be attracted into the
main spotlight. Once a Taiko is in the light, the
2 handheld lights are turned on and they are used to guide
the bird to the ground, where it can be captured.
The idea for this method of capturing the birds came from
early whalers accounts of the birds flying into tripot fires,
says David Crockett.
In the last 31 years there
have been 19 expeditions to the Chatham Islands involving a total
of 163 volunteers. All have made significant contributions
to the rediscovery and continuing survival of this unique species.
To find out more about the Chatham Island Taiko Trust, and what
you can do to help the Chatham Island Taiko click HERE
Secure Breeding Site
In a major new initiative to enhance the future
for the Chatham Island Taiko, a secure breeding site has been
established near the coast at a location where Taiko were still
breeding in reasonable numbers 90 years ago.
In a letter written by a local farmer H.G. Blyth, to David
Crockett in June 1952, Mr Blyth described 2 Taiko breeding colonies
that he remembers being on this farm in the previous 40 years.
With the removal of bush that followed with the encroachment of
farming and the introduction of stock these colonies vanished
around the 1930's. The location of the secure breeding area
at Sweetwater is because it is one of the old colony sites.
Remains of former Taiko burrows can still be found at this location.
Telemetric efforts and evaluation of historical data also suggest
that the area between Point Gap and Otauwe Point was an aerial
courtship site for the Taiko, Sweetwater is mid-way between these
An area of 7.5 hectares at Sweetwater
has been covenanted by the landowners, Bruce and Liz Tuanui.
This has been fenced off to exclude stock to allow the forest
to recover. Within the covenant the secure breeding
site a three hectare area, enclosed by a predator-proof fence
was opened March 2006.
The Sweetwater covenant
site is ideally situated for a petrel colony high above
the cliffs on the southern coast. From here the young
birds have an easy maiden flight out to the Southern Pacific
Now the fence is in place, loudspeakers have be
positioned in the centre of the site and pre-recorded Taiko calls
are being played to attract the young prospecting males to the
ground. It is hoped that once they land they will begin
to dig burrows and eventually find a mate and within several years
start to breed.
For full details on the predator-proof fence and the secure breeding
site initiatives visit the Secure Breeding
There are two main areas of research into Taiko at present
1) Trials into techniques
to lure Taiko to new sites and research on techniques to translocate
and hand rear chicks.
2) Research on Taiko biology,
population dynamics and distribution.
The first research area is focused on techniques
which will be used to encourage Taiko to establish themselves
within the secure breeding site. The main method of encouraging
the birds to use the secure breeding area is likely to be a loud
speaker system with pre-recorded Taiko calls to attract them in.
This has been tried out on other types of petrels in New Zealand
and overseas with good success.
The second area of research involves trailing
translocating chicks to a new site, prior to them fledging.
It it hoped that the young birds will imprint on the new location
and return to the same place in eight or nine years to breed and
establish a new colony site. Diving petrels (Pelecanoides urinatrix),
Grey-Faced petrels (Pterodroma macroptera) and Pycroft's
petrel (Pterodroma pycrofti), have had trials to develope
techniques to transfer and hand rear chicks at new breeding sites.
These techniques have been very successful in establishing new
seabird colonies around the New Zealand coast.
The second area of research is focused on
increasing what is known of the Taiko. Taiko were only rediscovered
in 1978 and the breeding grounds found in 1987. This plus
the fact that so few birds have ever been found, has resulted
in very little accurate information being known. Most of
the early assumptions about Taiko were based on knowledge of related
petrel species such as the Grey-Faced petrel (Pterodroma Macroptera).
By increasing what is known about the Taiko, staff will be able
to better protect and plan strategies more effectively, to assist
the birds in increasing their population. Research on DNA
collected from birds is also being undertaken. This will
give a more accurate idea of the genetic diversity and family
Department of Conservation,
seabird scientist Graeme Taylor, carefully examines a Taiko