Chthonic Wildlife Ramblings

Reflections of a heterodox conservationist

Weka Photos

Thursday, February 4, 2010 9:26:11 PM

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As I have been thinking of wekas Galliralus australis of late, here's a couple of photos of this threatened NZ rail:

NZ Weka Photo #1

Link to larger image

NZ Weka Photo #2

Link to larger image

This native rail to be fairly wide-spread, and growing up on the East Coast, it was pretty common. The species however has undergone some fairly major population contractions.

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Comments

NeilUkwildlife Thursday, February 4, 2010 9:55:16 PM

lol I misread the title so was suprised to see a feathered rail and not a giant cricket.

Lovely photos though smile

Chthoniidchthoniid Thursday, February 4, 2010 10:02:41 PM

Heh, you're not the first to have made that mistake. For a few hours this week, someone in the Dept thought I was heading off to a weta-farm, not a weka-farm.

Dacotah Thursday, February 4, 2010 10:43:32 PM

up

Chthoniidchthoniid Friday, February 5, 2010 2:35:37 AM

Thanks Carol- I've got a soft spot for them.

Dacotah Friday, February 5, 2010 2:37:15 AM

You are welcome. smile

jim bakerjellytussle Friday, February 5, 2010 9:15:30 AM

Now I'm in the right place! Gorgeous photos by the way. Am I morally wrong in wanting to breed weka on my section and then quietly release them into the northland bush?

Chthoniidchthoniid Saturday, February 6, 2010 12:26:54 AM

Hi Jim- thanks smile I'm of the view we need to be a lot more permissive with captive breeding. Losing the little spotted kiwi in the West Coast and the weka in the East Coast, highlights how quickly we can run into disaster. It also shows up how 'thin' our reserve populations are.

Releases would have to be a bit better managed though to minimise the risk of bad genes getting into wild populations.

Are you breeding any other animals at the moment?

jim bakerjellytussle Saturday, February 6, 2010 1:27:36 AM

No we don't breed anything save for the occasional chook. I just think it's crazy that I could theoretically allow turkeys, ducks, chickens and pheasants etc to escape with no problems but when it comes to endangered native bird species my hands are tied. I appreciate your point about gene management but feel that the results could be tremendous were DOC more permissive with captive breeding.

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