First banding of kokakao chicks: Waitakere Ranges

Caryn Wilkinson Reporter from Community News

The first kokako chicks of the season have been banded in the Waitakere Ranges as part of Forest and Bird's conservation project Ark in the Park.

Kokako were first reintroduced to the Ark in the Park in 2009.

The population has grown to about 50 birds after hours of painstaking pest control work by volunteers.

The nests of five pairs are being monitored and protected.

The Waitakere Ranges are closed to the public to foil the spread of Kauri Dieback disease.

Resulting strict measures in place for volunteer trappers has complicated trapping efforts, a Forest and Bird spokesperson said.

One of the five nests has already been attacked by rats with the eggs eaten.

Trapping or bait stations set by Forest and Bird volunteers are used to control predators in the park.

Six hundred traps and 4785 bait stations are set to protect native birds, lizards and insects from rats, stoats and possums.

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Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.

This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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