One of New Zealand's rarest native birds was flown from the deep south for treatment at a Nelson veterinary clinic.
Jane the kakapo was transferred from Codfish Island, near Stewart Island, to the Halifax Veterinary Centre to allow Department of Conservation (DoC) staff to examine swelling in one of her leg joints.
The swelling was noticed by DoC staff on the island during a routine check about a fortnight ago.
Uncertainty over the cause, and whether it might be a symptom of a developing problem, resulted in a flight on Thursday to the clinic, which has the necessary facilities and expertise for treating birds.
Members of DoC's national kakapo project are also based in Nelson. Maud Island, in the Marlborough Sounds, is another kakapo refuge where Jane can be placed until her condition improved.
Jane is one of 62 surviving kakapo, 37 of them on Codfish Island. She was first discovered in 1989, but she has not bred since being found.
- NZPA
No quack for Jane the kakapo
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