Before five kākāpō chicks were shipped off to their new home, some of us at the rūnanga were lucky enough to get close to them in their temporary enclosure in Invercargill.
These 89-day-old chicks — which we thought were adult birds — were heading to Meridan’s Manapōuri hydro station in Fiordland National Park for the official announcement of a partnership between the Department of Conservation and Meridian Energy.
Even luckier were Peter and Colin (Toe) Topi who represented Awarua Rūnanga at the official announcement.
Two of the kākāpō chicks that are part of the breeding programme.
One of the Kākāpō in the temporary enclosure.