Twenty-four young black stilts (kaki) have been released at South Canterbury's Lake Tekapo as part of a joint DoC and Otago University project to save the bird.
Otago University zoologist Dr Phil Seddon said there were only eight pairs of kaki breeding in the wild. He said evaluating how well birds raised in captivity bred in the wild was important.
"It's been a long struggle to try to bring these birds back from the brink of extinction. We are still some way off, but we hope this mutually beneficial partnership will speed up the day when kaki are restored as a breeding species throughout the rivers and wetlands of New Zealand," Dr Seddon said.
The birds have been fitted with radio transmitters and will be monitored.
The data will be used to decide the best age, time, sites and methods for future release, Dr Seddon said.
The kaki became endangered through predation and the loss of traditional wetland habitats.
Since 1981 DoC (then the Wildlife Service) has managed the birds.
The birds to be released were raised at a DoC breeding facility in Twizel. They are all three months old and will receive extra food to help with the transition into the wild.
- NZPA
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