Seventeen critically endangered native parakeets have been transported to the Bay of Plenty.
The birds have be flown from the South Island to predator free Tuhua/Mayor Island, to keep them safe from a predicted plague of predators in the beech forests where these rare natives normally live.
The orange-fronted parakeets (kakariki karaka) were once common throughout New Zealand but have been brought to the brink of extinction by introduced predators - particularly stoats and rats.
It's estimated there are only around 200 kakariki karaka left in three areas of alpine forest in the South Island. These last remaining natural populations are in the Hawdon and Poulter valleys in Arthur's Pass National Park and the south branch of the Hurunui valley in Lake Sumner Forest Park in North Canterbury.
Rare birds flown to Bay
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