A rare takahē chick has hatched at Christchurch’s Willowbank Wildlife Reserve — an exciting milestone in the recovery of one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most threatened native birds.

Now growing under the careful watch of its parents, the chick represents an important success for the national takahē recovery effort. Once thought extinct until their rediscovery in Fiordland in 1948, takahē remain one of the world’s rarest flightless birds, making every successful hatch a vital step toward strengthening the population.

Willowbank is part of a national breeding and advocacy network supporting the Department of Conservation’s Takahē Recovery Programme and is one of the few places where visitors can see takahē and learn about efforts to protect them.

The arrival of this chick is a powerful reminder of what collaborative conservation can achieve — and the importance of continued efforts to protect New Zealand’s precious wildlife.

— Willowbank Wildlife Reserve