"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 Guardian has been given first access to the photographs and footage of the chick, which sports a shock of fuzzy black down, comically large white legs and claws, and a black beak with a tiny white tip."
"They are the world's largest living rail a family of small to medium sized ground-dwelling birds with short wings, large feet and long toes. They breed just once a year. While they resemble Australasian swamp hens, or pukeko in New Zealand, they are in fact their chunkier, flightless, mountain-dwelling cousin. The birds once roamed the South Island, but were thought extinct at the turn of the 20th century, until they were rediscovered in 1948."
A roughly seven-week-old takahe chick was found in Zealandia, a fully fenced urban eco-sanctuary near Wellington, in November. The chick displays fuzzy black down, large white legs and claws, and a black beak with a small white tip. The chick's parents, Bendigo and Waitaa, arrived at the sanctuary two years earlier as a non-breeding pair and were not expected to breed after an unsuccessful 2024 nesting attempt. Waitaa's temporary disappearance in October suggested she may be nesting. Staff confirmed the chick with trail-camera footage and kept its presence secret to protect it. The chick's sex is not yet known.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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