By ANNE BESTON
A botanical find on a rocky outcrop of a Waikato mountain has bolstered one of the biggest private conservation projects in New Zealand's history.
Conservationists believe they may have found a new daisy, unique to Mt Maungatautari, in the southern Waikato, where local landowners and councils plan to create
a wildlife sanctuary of more than 3000ha.
The slender-leafed daisy may be of a type that has become so isolated it cannot cross-breed with others, similar to a species once found on Te Mata Peak, near Hastings, but which is now extinct.
The closest neighbouring populations to the new daisy are found on the Volcanic Plateau. But the Maungatautari daisy could be different enough to be considered a new sub-species, said Waikato University botanist Dr Barry Clarkson.
The daisy's location means its future is assured - it has been found within the area proposed for the sanctuary.
The Maungatautari Ecological Trust, with support from the Department of Conservation, Environment Waikato, Waipa District Council, iwi and adjoining landowners, is raising $8.7 million to fence more than 3000ha of the mountain top.
Maungatautari, south of Lake Karapiro, is a volcanic cone covered by largely intact forest canopy.
Yesterday, British conservationist Dr David Bellamy made a flying visit to the mountain in support of the work.
He also visited the nearby Warrenheip kiwi sanctuary, where a young chick was named after him. It is the second native bird to bear his name - one of Tiritiri Matangi's takahe was named Bellamy during one of his previous visits.
Warrenheip is a privately owned kiwi "creche" where young chicks are raised to a target weight before being re-released into the wild.
Owner David Wallace is a leading member of the Maungatautari project.
The pest-proof fence to be used on the mountain will stretch 47km, compared with Wellington's Karori Wildlife Sanctuary's 8.6km, and will keep out every mammalian predator right down to the smallest field mouse.
The aim is to create a wildlife haven so some of New Zealand's rarest species, including kokako, kiwi and tuatara, can return.
Kokako, the bird with the hauntingly beautiful song, disappeared from Mt Maungatautari more than 20 years ago.
Trust member Julie Milne said there were thought to be just 10 mating pairs of North Island brown kiwi left in the wild in Waikato/King Country.
Further reading
nzherald.co.nz/environment
www.maungatrust.org
www.doc.gov
By ANNE BESTON
A botanical find on a rocky outcrop of a Waikato mountain has bolstered one of the biggest private conservation projects in New Zealand's history.
Conservationists believe they may have found a new daisy, unique to Mt Maungatautari, in the southern Waikato, where local landowners and councils plan to create
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