Takahē chick ready to ditch baby food at Wellington's Zealandia

Tuesday, 1 January 2019

A Takahē chick's beak will turn red as it matures.

The New Year means the end of baby food and the beginning of real food for one Wellington youngster.

A rare takahē chick is coming off mashed food and onto bird pellets in a move celebrated by its human guardians at Zealandia ecosanctuary.

The rare takahē has been feed mashed food to help its chance of survival.

While the eight-week-old bird was still dependant on its parents for feeding, it was beginning to show signs of independence, a spokeswoman said.

'The chick is starting to be seen venturing further away from them pulling grass and picking about.'

Takahē parents Nio and Orbell were transferred to Zealandia from Mana Island in 2017.

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Zealandia conservation manager, Dr Danielle Shanahan, says everything was being done to ensure the Takahē chick survives.

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The bird hatched in November to takahē parents Nio and Orbell, who were transferred to Zealandia from Mana Island in 2017; the birds are aged 14 and 18 respectively – near the end of their breeding age.

Following the hatching, Zealandia's conservation manager Dr Danielle Shanahan said the chick was extremely vulnerable and rangers were doing all they could to improve its chance of survival.

Public access to the takahē wetland area was closed and volunteers prepared supplementary food to help the takahē parents provide the best nutrition for the chick.

On Monday, a spokeswoman said the end of the 'baby food' was a good sign.

'That is pretty exciting news and marks a big step in our management and its life.'

Another sign of the chick's development was its beak. Mostly black, its small white tip would disappear before the beak turned red as the bird continued to mature.

Banding and a health check were expected to take place in February.

Classed as threatened and vulnerable, takahē were widely considered to be extinct until 70 years ago.

Invercargill doctor Geoffrey Orbell rediscovered a small population in a remote part of Fiordland in 1948 - the takahē chick's father Orbell was named after him.