Tīeke welcomed to the mainland of Te Waipounamu

100 tīeke, or saddleback, are now on the mainland of Te Waipounamu at Orokonui Ecosanctuary – Te Korowai o Mihiwaka, as the result of a partnership between Kati Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, the Rakiura Tītī Islands Administering Body and Orokonui Ecosanctuary.

Tane Davis, Chair of the Rakiura Tītī Islands Administering Body says that translocating the tīeke from Pūtauhinu and Kani (Kundy)  Islands, where the populations are thriving, to the mainland is significant for all of Aotearoa, and a shared success story for the project partners involved.

“The Rakiura Tītī Islands Administering Body and Rakiura Māori are sharing this taonga with the public to safeguard the tīeke, which is classed as ‘at risk’, and to help the population to continue to grow,” Davis says.

“This project highlights the central role of mana whenua as kaitiaki of the tīeke and other taonga species,” he says.

“It is also a very significant event in the context of protecting and restoring the biodiversity of Aotearoa.”

The Department of Conservation has been an enabler of this initiative, which has been driven by mana whenua.

Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki hosted the event to welcome the tīeke to their takiwā, starting with a mihi whakatau.

Whānau release tīeke at Orokonui Ecosanctuary - image by Jen Lucas

Tīeke are a taonga species for Ngāi Tahu and are part of an ancient group of manu of Aotearoa referred to as “wattlebirds”. The other members of this group are the endangered kōkako and the huia, which is extinct.

Tīeke were once found across Te Waipounamu; however, the introduction of predators such as rats and stoats drove them from the mainland by the end of the 19th century. By the 1960s, tīeke faced extinction when rats invaded their last refuge, Taukihepa Island, near the southwest coast of Rakiura. Luckily work was done to eradicate rats from these islands, and since then mana whenua who manage the islands for muttonbirding have been caring for these manu and transferring them to new islands to secure their future.

Orokonui Ecosanctuary is a pivotal return point for wildlife in the mainland, providing a safe predator-free environment for a breeding population to establish, before they are released elsewhere. It also provides a location for the public to engage with wildlife not accessible elsewhere such as tīeke.

Support from funders and other members of the community is critical to achieving translocations like this. This includes a specially constructed aviary to temporarily house the birds funded by Dunedin Rotary Club and a specialty education programme supported by the Otago Regional Council.