takahe+report

The takahe was once thought extinct but was rediscovered in 1948. Extinction Dr Geoffrey Orbell went tramping up in the Murchison Mountains every weekend because he believed there were still some takahe left. One day he found a Takahe chick there and now the valley is named after the takahe and the lake is named after Dr Orbell.Takahe are endangered because red deer eat the same food as them. Features The takahe has green, blue and indigo feathers and a red beak and feet. The takahe and the pukeko look similar but the takahe has a white tuft on the bottom of its tail and the pukeko is darker in colour. Takahe DO have wings but they are only used for display to scare their predators away.The takahe’s call is easily confused with the wekas but is deeper and more resonant. They make an oomph sound when disturbed. Chicks Takahes have a very low reproductive rate. On average only two eggs are laid. Eggs are usually laid between mid-October and the end of December. Chicks hatch within thirty days and are quickly active. They stay with their parents for about a year. The young are fed on insects for the first two weeks and gradually their diet becomes vegetarian. Their nests are deep bowls made of fine grasses. A typical takahe nest has two entrances. Takahe are flightless so they build their nest on the ground. Habitat In summer they live in grasslands and feed on the tussock shoots. When it is winter and the tussocks are covered in snow they feed on under ground fern rhizomes.Red deer eat the same food as them so we have built inclosures for them. Humans are doing all they can to help the takahe and we have built inclosures for them all around New Zealand.