Our Changing World: Tūī translocation

Today on Our Changing World – we have a piece from the archives – from 15 years ago. Chatham Island tūī once were common on the main Chatham Island, but from the 1930s their numbers started to decline, and by the 1990s they were all but gone. In 2009 fourteen tūī were transferred from nearby predator free Rangatira island to the main island. They all survived the winter, and some started to breed. Following up on this success, local conservation group the Chatham Island Taiko Trust decided to translocate more in 2010. We join Alison Ballance and the tūī team just after they’ve caught and contained 40 birds.