Takahe rescue, with Mitre 10

Two takah? released on Motutapu Island by Mitre 10 volunteers and Iwi representatives.

Business: Since 2005 Mitre 10 has invested more than half a million dollars in the Department of Conservation's (DoC) Takahe Recovery Programme. The company last year signed a fresh agreement for another three years, which will see them doubling their annual financial contribution and taking an even greater role in building takahe awareness and appreciation.

Over the years, support from Mitre 10, via Mitre 10 Takahe Rescue, has allowed the Takahe Recovery Programme to upgrade and build new breeding units and safe homes, enhance monitoring and control of takah predators, transfer birds to offshore islands and predator-free sites and purchase much-needed health and maintenance materials.

Mitre 10 staff even tramped into the snowbound Murchison Mountains carrying traps to help suppress the stoats that prey on these precious birds. Mitre 10 water piping suppliers Hydroflow has assisted with the water supply system at the Burwood Takahe Rearing Unit and 'Mitre 10 Easy As' front man Stan has helped build culverts to keep predators out.

Mitre 10 staff are also regular volunteers at the releases of takahe. So far birds have been successfully translocated to five predator-free offshore islands: Tiritiri Matangi, Kapiti, Maud, Mana and Motutapu, as well as to seven predator free sites: Christchurch's Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, Dunedin's Orokonui Ecosanctuary, Wellington's Zealandia centre, the Te Anau and Mt Bruce wildlife centres, the Maungatautari Ecological Island and the Cape Sanctuary at Cape Kidnappers in the Hawkes Bay. Martin Genet, Department of Conservation takahe programme supervisor, said: "Mitre 10 has been our primary partner for the last eight years. They have helped us with the construction of pens and incubators and as a result we have raised a whole lot more birds."

Mitre 10 Chairman Martin Dippie has had the chance to get up close and personal with the takahe. "Helping DoC with the translocations and in establishing new habitats for the birds has been fantastic," he says. "I helped lay stoat traps with DoC in the snow, helped build pens and watched the released birds in their new habitat. It was exciting to help in establishing a breeding ground for such a rare bird.

"Our local stores are also getting behind the recovery programme and volunteering which is great to see as it has built a great sense of local ownership. Mitre 10 is a kiwi company so this project to save a unique part of New Zealand is something we are proud to dedicate our time and energy to."

Know your Takahe
The flightless takahe had been believed to be extinct since 1898, until it was rediscovered in the rugged Murchison Mountains of Fiordland. Today it is still endangered, with only about 57 breeding pairs now located at predator free sites and far less remaining in the Murchison Mountains.

Introduced red deer compete for their food, (takahe predominantly eat particular kinds of tussock grass), and introduced stoats also prey on the birds.

Critically endangered, the low number of breeding takahe has led to problems with inbreeding and a subsequent lack of fertility. The relatively small size of their island havens has worsened the problem and is now addressed by regularly transferring young birds between sites. The challenge of establishing robust future populations of these birds continues.

How to get involved
Businesses and corporates can play a vital role in conservation by setting a lead in their own standards of environmental performance, and through conservation partnerships. In turn, partners get to take part in high profile programmes led by the Department of Conservation, world leaders in conservation management.

There are also many local conservation partnership opportunities, from work with native animals and plants to environmental education, outdoor recreation and conservation awards. To find out how you could get involved go to: DoC.govt.nz

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