The delightful little kākerōri, or Rarotonga flycatcher, has been brought back from the brink of extinction in a Cook Islands conservation success story.
The Takitumu Conservation Area covers three forested valleys, inland from the horticultural zone on the coast. Photo: Alison Ballance
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In the mid-1980s New Zealand ecologist Rod Hay identified the critically endangered kākerōri as one of the Top Ten most at-risk birds in the Pacific. The population hit a low of just 29 birds in 1989, and Rod and fellow kiwi Hugh Robertson identified ship rats and feral cats as significant threats to the species’ survival.
Kākerōri live in three forested valleys collectively known as the Takitumu Conservation Area, which lies in Rarotonga’s southeast. The TCA, as it is known locally, belongs to three land-owning families. Back in 1996, they set aside 155 hectares of forest to protect the kākerōri.
A rat control programme was extended across the Takitumu Conservation Area, and has been led since 1999 by Ian Karika. Ian, other landowners and a team of volunteers put out poison baits from September to December each year, to protect nesting birds. The bait is funded by income from guided walks into the sanctuary.
The kākerōri population has climbed steadily and on his recent trip to colour band individual birds and conduct a population census, Hugh and his colleagues estimated that the kākerōri population has reached at least 621 birds on Rarotonga.
Entrance to Takitumu Conservation Area Photo: Alison Ballance
To learn more:
- Listen to the full episode on Our Changing World.
- Find out more about the kākerōri and the Takitumu Conservation Area. There is plenty of information in the Takitumu Conservation Area Management Plan.
- Listen to other bird conservation stories from Alison Ballance such as Bringing back nature to Nelson, and More seabirds for Mana Island.
