We’ve had our most successful season yet for the endangered tara iti! This is the fifth year of our Tara Iti Recovery Programme with our strategic partners the Department of Conservation, which has seen an incredible new approach to intensive management – what we believe is a world first for terns.
Follow along with our video as we incubate, hatch and hand-rear tara iti (New Zealand fairy tern) for release into the wild. First, they head to a purpose-built predator-proof area on the beach. It’s here that the chicks perfect their flying and fishing skills before joining the wild population.
Tara iti are Aotearoa New Zealand’s most endangered bird as there are just 35 adults existing today. Every successful chick that reaches breeding age is a massive win for the future of the species. The great news is monitoring efforts have meant that six of the eight tara iti that were hand-reared at the Zoo have been sighted along the West Coast.
Thank you to our partners at Mazda for driving our tara iti fieldwork.
