KERERŪ – he taonga tuku iho / a treasured bird  

 

When people first arrived on Banks Peninsula, over 90% of the Peninsula was cloaked in native forest.  By the time the first Europeans arrived about 75% of the Peninsula forest remained.  Now less than 1.5% of that forest remains due to dramatic forest clearance, largely for agricultural production.   As a result the numbers of native birds,

including the kererū or New Zealand Native Pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), have been steadily decreasing, with many now locally, regionally or nationally threatened or extinct.  Predation by introduced mammals has also had a significant impact on kererū.

Whalers and early settlers to Banks Peninsula recorded large flocks of kererū within Lyttelton Harbour.  The whalers gave Pigeon Bay its name because of the large flocks of kererū frequenting the bay.  Pigeon Bay is also known as Kūkūpa, another name for the native pigeon.

Kererū or Kūkūpa are considered a taonga or treasure by many iwi, including Ngāi Tahu.  The kererū was one of the most important mahinga kai (traditional food) resources of Ngāi Tahu.  The feathers of the kererū were treasured for adorning cloaks, the meat was a valuable food source and the hinu (oil) was extracted for a variety of uses, including tattooing.  Forest birds such as kererū were gathered from December to January using snares or caught in specially constructed traps known as waka kererū that were shaped as feeding troughs to draw in kererū.  After feeding on the berries of certain native trees, kererū often became thirsty and lazy, and could be easily snared beside water or trapped in the waka kererū.

In Maori legend, the kereru’s iridescent plumage comes from the clothes Maui wore when he changed

into a bird so that he could visit the underworld to look for his parents

Kererū is a large forest bird.  It is adored by both Māori and Pakeha for its charismatic manner.  While it is regarded as common, numbers have decreased alarmingly in the past few years in many locations.  It is important to lowland forest health and restoration as it is the only native bird with a beak large enough to swallow, and disperse, the seeds of native trees such as miro, tawa, karaka and kahikatea.  Kereru live for between 10 – 20 years, maturing at 1 or 2 years and raising only 1 chick at a time, but may nest twice in a year if food is abundant.  If food is scarce, they may not breed at all.

Nesting usually occurs in spring or summer (November – March) when most fruits are available.  During the breeding season spectacular aerial displays, commonly called ‘display dives’ are witnessed close to the time of egg laying, or when a nest fails.  Kererū suffer predation from a range of introduced mammals including rats, stoats, ferrets, cats, and possums.  There also continues to be a problem with illegal hunting by humans, even though kererū are fully protected by the Wildlife Act.

A number of projects around New Zealand attest to value placed on these birds with many trying to protect and enhance kererū populations through restoring native habitat and foods and reducing the risk of predation by pest control.  A large amount of research is also being undertaken and in some areas, iwi have placed additional rahui (customary bans) on the gathering of kererū to aid in restoration. 

Links to some of these projects are provided below: