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

In New Zealand, the return of wild takahē populations marks a cautiously celebrated conservation victory, and the return of one of the world’s rarest creatures. The birds had been formally declared extinct in 1898, their already-reduced population devastated by the arrival of European settlers’ animal companions: stoats, cats, ferrets and rats. After their rediscovery in 1948, their numbers are now at about 500, growing at about 8% a year.

    • @Laticauda@lemmy.ca
      5•10 months ago

      In the article:

      Their presence in Aotearoa dates back to at least the prehistoric Pleistocene era, according to fossil remains.

      It just means the species has been around since the prehistoric era.