Takahē – conservation and ecology

Takahē are the rock stars of conservation science. These resources support NZC Living World ecology levels 2 and 3:

• how living things are suited to their particular habitat

• how they respond to environmental changes.

Takahe are flightless birds and have adaptations that allow them to live in their isolated alpine habitat - big legs and bodies, strong beaks to strip the tussock grasses.

They have struggled with environmental change. Human and introduced predators reduced their habitats and population numbers. Scientists have had to try many different approaches when introducing them to new habitats.

In 2018, a new wild population was successfully established.

Use the resources to help with background knowledge. There are excellent images within the resources for use in class discussions or for observation purposes. The resources include glossary links to highlight key content vocabulary.

There are notes below each resource on this page. The notes list the big science ideas covered in each article.

The notes for the other resources explain how each resource can be used to help with planning and student understanding.