Pair open store to feed fellow bookworms ‘Little puffballs’ boost the takahe population
TE ANAU WANAKA
FLUFFY and rare, the newly hatched Te Anau takahe chicks will help bolster the species population nationally.
Department of Conservation Te Anau Bird Sanctuary ranger Kiri Klein said there were two pairs of resident takahe at the sanctuary, one pair with two 2weekold foster chicks.
‘‘Very cute, really hard to see because they are really good parents and secretive with their chicks, which is good because it keeps them safe.’’
The second pair had also just gone down to nest.
‘‘We’re hoping to get them a foster egg so they can raise a foster chick for themselves as well.’’
Once grown, the chicks will be transported to the Burwood Takahe Centre for a ‘‘boot camp’’ to learn how to be a takahe in a natural environment.
She described them as little black balls of fluff with legs and a grey beak.
‘‘Little puffballs.’’
Takahe Sanctuary Sites Ranger Phil Marsh said the takahe recovery team worked to build up the takahe population.
‘‘Our main aim, ultimately, is to produce enough birds in captive environments to be able to release into wild populations.’’
Population numbers were about the 445 mark.
In the wild, takahe faced challenges such as predation, drowning and falling from heights such as cliffs.
He said they had been lucky in that about 80% of takahe eggs had been fertile.
It was important to protect the species so as to ‘‘not lose them again’’ — they were ‘‘very nearly’’ lost in the mid 1900s.
‘‘We want to ensure that in years to come every New Zealander can easily see a takahe on Mainland New Zealand.’’
In the last five years, about five eggs had been hatched at the sanctuary, which had not been the resident pair’s eggs.
As the species were culturally significant taonga, Ngai Tahu had a close involvement in their recovery.
laura.smith@alliedpress.co.nz
THERE are very few positives to come out of Covid19 except perhaps for booksellers who are benefiting from the rise in the number of people stocking up on the written word.
Former documentary maker Jenny Ainge and project manager Sally Battson opened the shop ‘‘The Next Chapter’’ in Wanaka last week, not knowing it followed one of the busiest months in book publishing around the world.
There were 300,000 new books published internationally in September, the biggest number of new releases in years, and it was because people were reading more, Ms Ainge said.
‘‘Research is showing New Zealand is up 30% on the number of books bought at the same time last year.
‘‘There is no data to say this will be the pattern but New Zealand booksellers have done better than Australian booksellers and both have done better than American booksellers under Covid,’’ she said.
The idea of opening a book store had been incubating long before Covid appeared, Ms Ainge said.
‘‘I had always had a dream of running a book store and last year when yet another documentary did not get funded I began to think the idea had merit.’’
Ms Ainge and Ms Battson were neighbours and used to share books.
‘‘When Jenny rang me up and said I have got this idea to open a book store in Wanaka and am looking for a business partner, I immediately said to her, ‘Pick me, pick me’,’’ Ms Battson said.
Wanaka has an estimated 27 book clubs, two University of the
Third Age groups and is reputed to have one of the highest densities of Royal Society members of any New Zealand settlement.
‘‘We knew we had a big bookreading public,’’ Ms Ainge said.
The store was meant to open earlier this month but Covid19 lockdowns in Melbourne had caused delays in stock arriving by ship from Melbourne and Ms
Ainge broke her ankle at a fundraising dance last month.
They said the name of the shop was chosen from a long list of possibilities but as they both had come from different careers ‘‘it enscapsulated what it was about for us’’, Ms Battson said.
‘‘I just hope it is not the last chapter for me,’’ Ms Ainge said.