Weka Watch files

The Weka is a large brown flightless rail (Rallidae – Gallirallus group) endemic to New Zealand.

Once-prolific, the North Island Weka is now a threatened species.

In the early 1990's, Gary and Elaine Staples set up an enclosure to begin a weka breeding programme in Karangahake. "Weka Watch" recorded their progress, and the ultimate failure of the project because of predation.

Elaine began writing Weka Watch in 1994. These articles were published in the Waihi Gazette and Paeroa Gazette, and tell a story of hope and despair, of triumphs and failures; they also tell a story of personal dedication to saving one of New Zealand's most personable birds, the North Island Weka. They are reproduced here with the kind permission of the author.

Additional articles are also presented here, below the Images link in the contents menu.