The comeback kid: Mandy Herrick reports on efforts to restore populations of a once thought to be lost forever: the Chatham Island taiko

摘要

LIKE the takahe, the kakapo and the New Zealand storm petrel, a question mark lay over the existence of the sea-wandering Chatham Island taiko. Doubts that this elusive bird was still alive continued for more than a century, until this long-lost aviator was finally seen again, lit up in the beam of a spotlight in the night sky. Numbering just 150 individuals, the taiko still clings dangerously close to extinction as one of the world's most endangered birds. The Chatham island taiko's maiden flight begins like a slapstick comedy routine. After scrambling up a nearly vertical tree, young fledglings launch themselves into the Antarctic winds, fall to the ground and repeat the process. But these youngsters don't give up. After crashing to the ground, they just waddle their way back to mount the tree for yet another attempt at flight.