Coffee cup conservation for ko¯kako
The ko¯ kako keep coming back to Taranaki – with help from coffee cups.
At Womad, when people buy a reusable coffee cup emblazoned with the native bird, the profits will go towards translocating ko¯ kako to the region.
The cups were first introduced to Womad in 2016 as part of the Shell NZ Zero Waste project to reduce waste and last year sales led to the energy company donating $15,000 towards the initiative.
‘‘In total, Womaders have helped raise $45,000 for Tiaki te Mauri o Parininihi Trust, through recycling and the reusable cups,’’ Shell NZ social investment manager Kylie Reeves said.
‘‘Funds raised from the sale of the cups will go to the trust to help support their amazing work keeping the ko¯ kako safe at Parininihi.’’
So far, 20 ko¯kako have been introduced into Parininihi, a conservation project led by Nga¯ti Tama iwi in North Taranaki.
The birds, eight pairs, three single males and one single female, have settled in well after their release in May and June last year.
The birds were monitored and over the breeding season and 13 nests were found.
Reeves said the last ko¯ kako was taken away from the Nga¯ ti Tama area in 1999 for breeding purposes as part of a national restoration plan for these birds.
The majority of the 20 birds that have come back are the descendants of those last Taranaki ko¯ kako.
‘‘More ko¯ kako will be making Parininihi their home this April, with 20 additional birds being translocated from Pureora Forest Park in the Waikato,’’ she said.
‘‘These additional ko¯ kako will provide much-needed genetic diversity to the birds of Taranaki lineage released last year.’’
Money raised from this weekend’s coffee cup sales will help towards the ongoing conservation effort, but even more funds are needed for the project, Reeves said.
‘‘The success of the ko¯kako translocation and subsequent breeding has been amazing, but it has increased the costs dramatically for the trust, with extra man hours, traps and monitoring to ensure these birds and their chicks are safe.’’
Trust project manager Conrad O’Carroll said the long-held goal of returning ko¯kako to Parininihi has included doing extensive restoration work in the 2000-hectare coastal forest.
‘‘Now we have chicks at Parininihi, our work is even more critical,’’ he said.
‘‘We need to continue to keep the pest levels down and we need to ensure Parininihi is safe for ko¯ kako and other species for the long-term.’’
The trust is working to eradicate possums, rats, stoats and feral cats from the forest.
O’Carroll said Parininihi is a highly productive forest providing plenty for the birds to eat.
‘‘The birds seem to like their new home and a record number of eggs were laid – 37 from the pairs monitored.’’
From the first release of 20 birds, Parininihi now has six established ko¯ kako pairs, with one pair, named Parirau and Puoho, laying a four-egg clutch.
‘‘This is the largest clutch ever recorded for the species. It’s unprecedented for ko¯ kako and incredibly exciting for the trust. Normally a nest/clutch holds one to three eggs,’’ he said.
The trust is fortunate to have many ko¯ kako specialists providing support, including ecologists Amanda Rogers, Dave Bryden and Joel Henton.