Prehistoric bird once thought extinct returns to New Zealand wild https://ift.tt/kVfm56P Tess McClure in Auckland Return of takahē – large, flightless bird – to alpine slopes of the South Island marks a conservation victory in New Zealand Tā Tipene O’Regan, 87 years old, leaned into his carved walking stick and reached down to a large wooden box. He paused a second, then slowly lifted the lid. Out shot the hefty body of a bright turquoise bird, legs windmilling, launching from its cage like a football from a slingshot. “I am now largely blind, but I still saw them,” O’Regan says: a flash of blue feathers and bright red legs racing for the tussocks. Continue reading... https://ift.tt/4PuljoK August 29, 2023 at 02:05AM

Return of takahē – large, flightless bird – to alpine slopes of the South Island marks a conservation victory in New Zealand

Tā Tipene O’Regan, 87 years old, leaned into his carved walking stick and reached down to a large wooden box. He paused a second, then slowly lifted the lid. Out shot the hefty body of a bright turquoise bird, legs windmilling, launching from its cage like a football from a slingshot.

“I am now largely blind, but I still saw them,” O’Regan says: a flash of blue feathers and bright red legs racing for the tussocks.

Continue reading...

from The Guardian https://ift.tt/kVfm56P