Jobs for Nature project spots critically endangered parakeets
Three kākāriki karaka (orange-fronted parakeets) have been sighted in the Hurunui North Branch in Lake Sumner (Hoka Kura) Forest Park, for first time since 2006.
Image: Department of Conservation (DoC)
The trio were spotted by a Jobs for Nature funded project that is aiming to protect the fragile population.
Kākāriki Karaka are listed as “nationally critical” with only 360 left in the wild. The birds have been thought to be extinct twice and are threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators.
The project working to protect these manu (birds) is a $5.1 million four-year partnership between Ngāi Tahu and Department of Conservation, focussed on predator control.
Another Jobs for Nature funded project is employing 10 out-of-work Canterbury hiking guides to conduct predator control across 30,000 hectares of Kākāriki Karaka habitat in Canterbury.
Read more about this exciting new discovery on the Department of Conservation website.