Shot bird’s miracle recovery
It took a plane, a car and a jet boat to get one of New Zealand’s rarest birds back to its breeding ground after it was shot, but the effort seems to have paid off.
The kotuku (white heron) – one of only 100 to 120 left – appears to have fully recovered after being shot with an air rifle just outside of Kaiapoi, north of Christchurch.
The bird, which features on the New Zealand $2 coin, breeds in Whataroa on the West Coast and winters in the North Canterbury region.
A Tram Rd family found the distressed and injured bird on their property on Saturday morning, caught it and called the Department of Conservation (DOC) hotline.
An X-ray showed the kotuku had air rifle pellets lodged in its chest. Its right-edge wing feathers, necessary for flight, were blown off.
DOC duty office Anita Spencer said by last week the bird had recovered enough to stalk around the estuary and feed himself, so on Thursday DOC put him on an Air New Zealand flight to Hokitika.
Spencer said the kotuku could have been flying past its flock, which start making their way back to Whataroa at this time of year.
‘‘He probably flew past some of his heron friends who were flying that way,’’ she said.
White Heron Sanctuary Tours, which takes tourists to the breeding ground, took the bird home.
A guide picked the bird up from Hokitika Airport, drove it an hour south to Whataroa, put it on a jet boat and drove it out to the estuary.
‘‘We were more than happy to try and get one back here.
‘‘For hundreds of years this has been their only breeding ground in New Zealand. We only have a small and fragile population here,’’ tours manager Dion Arnold said.
To DOC’s surprise, the kotuku flew out of the cage and across the river the moment it opened.
‘‘We’re really pleased with the outcome.
‘‘Wing injuries are always quite serious. If they can’t fly there’s not a lot of options really,’’ Spencer said.
Arnold said the bird was relaxed on the jet boat ride, which was typical of its species. He said the bird appeared to be recovering nicely.
‘‘We’ve spotted it three times, it looks really happy.
‘‘It’s still hanging around the edges of the estuary, feeding itself.’’
DOC has yet to locate the culprit who shot the rare bird. Spencer said there was no way the distinctive bird could have been mistaken for a game bird.
Kotuku are fully protected under the Wildlife Act 1953. Anyone harming them can receive up to $100,000 in fines or two years’ imprisonment.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Christchurch DOC hotline by calling 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).