Plight of the falcon

Taupo¯’s street art festival may have come to a close, but the battle to save the country’s threatened species has only just begun for one of the artists.

Tane Lawless, 33, created a mural highlighting the plight of the native falcon, or ka¯ rearea, at the back of a pet shop in town for the Graffiato Festival, which ended on Monday. It is the country’s most threatened bird of prey.

‘‘I want to get involved because I love nature,’’ said the only Taupo¯ artist to feature at this year’s event in the backstreets of the lakeside town.

‘‘I live off the land and we’re out there quite often and I want to try and help in any way I can. The NZ falcon, there are a very few left.’’

Official estimates indicate there are 5,000 to 8,000 native falcons left in the wild, and the southern form is listed as ‘‘threatened–nationally vulnerable’’, while the Bush and Eastern breeds are classified as ‘‘at risk–recovering’’.

They are under threat from habitat loss, disturbance, development impacts, human persecution, the threat of other animals and electrocution, according to the department of conservation.

Lawless said he and his family try and help protect falcons and their eggs whenever they go out bush.

‘‘There’s a couple we’ve been following around here, and not many people know about them. They’re pretty hard to find,’’ he said.

‘‘We go out in the field and try to protect where they’re breeding.’’

The native birds of prey are capable of flying at speeds of over 100kmh and can catch prey larger than themselves, and Lawless greatly admires them.

‘‘I’m a hunter and the falcon’s a hunter,’’ the 33-year-old said. ‘‘It’d be good to help a mate out.’’

The artist still works as a full-time mechanic, despite having soared to national prominence after creating a mural of All Blacks legend Richie McCaw for the 2015 Graffiato festival in Taupo¯ .

‘‘I’m glad I made a lot of people happy with that, I’m glad I did that,’’ said Lawless, who has been involved in the festival since it began in 2011.

‘‘If you can entertain people with your artwork in any way, that’s good.’’

Now, his goal is to highlight the plight of more of the country’s threatened species through his artwork, and he’s keen to highlight his artistic talents beyond his usual haunts of Taupo¯ and the Bay of Plenty.

‘‘If I can make people aware and help others, then that’s good,’’ Lawless said.

‘‘If I can relate my passion for artwork to try and help with endangered wildlife, I’ll do that.’’