A pair of rare native New Zealand takahē birds who were believed infertile have stunned staff at the world’s largest urban eco-sanctuary, after hatching a “miracle” chick. The roughly seven-week old chick was discovered inside Zealandia, a fully fenced eco-sanctuary 10 minutes from Wellington’s city centre, in November, but its arrival has been a closely guarded secret to ensure its safety. The birds once roamed the South Island, but were thought extinct at the turn of the 20th century, until they were rediscovered in 1948. Since then they have been part of New Zealand’s longest-running endangered species programme, which has slowly rebuilt their population to 500
Meet ‘miracle’ chick born to rare takahē pair thought to be infertile
