Takahē Return to the Rees

Once thought extinct, takahē are now roaming the Rees Valley – a remarkable return for one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most iconic and endangered birds.

Since the first release in February 2025, 86 takahē have now been returned to this spectacular landscape. Today, the Rees Valley is home to the largest wild takahē population outside the Murchison Mountains, marking a major milestone in the species’ national recovery.

This achievement is the result of years of planning, partnership and on-the-ground conservation.  Southern Lakes Sanctuary, alongside DOC Takahē Recovery, the Scott family of Rees Valley Station, Ngāi Tahu, Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust and many others has worked to restore the conditions needed for takahē to thrive once again in this landscape.

Restoring a wild future

The return of takahē has only been possible because of sustained, landscape-scale conservation work. Over several years, Southern Lakes Sanctuary and its partners have established an extensive predator control network, supported by ongoing monitoring and adaptive management.

This work has transformed the Rees into one of New Zealand’s most important mainland strongholds for wild takahē, while also creating safer habitat for a wide range of other threatened native species.

A landscape with extraordinary potential

The Rees Valley’s alpine tussock grasslands and forest margins provide ideal habitat for takahē. With abundant food, space and shelter, the wider upper Whakatipu catchment has the potential to support up to 500 birds – a number that could more than double the current national wild population within the next decade.

More than takahē

The conservation work underway in the Rees benefits far more than a single species. The same predator control and conservation work that supports takahē is also helping native wildlife recover across the valley, from kea and pīwauwau (rock wren) to pekapeka (bats) and braided river birds.

The recent return of whio to the Rees Valley for the first time in more than 50 years is a powerful sign that this landscape is recovering.

Help secure their future

The return of takahē to the Rees Valley is one of New Zealand’s great conservation success stories – but this is only the beginning.

Protecting and growing this population requires ongoing investment in predator control, monitoring and conservation work. Continued support will ensure takahē not only survive here, but flourish, while also safeguarding countless other native species that share this landscape.

By investing in Southern Lakes Sanctuary, you are helping to secure a thriving future for takahē in the wild and restoring one of Aotearoa’s most important natural landscapes for generations to come.

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A huge thank you to our incredible funding partners: Central Lakes Trust, AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand, Lotteries, RealNZ, Impact100, Stout Trust, Patagonia, QLDC, and Heli Glenorchy.

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