Saving the South Island Kokako: A Modern Guide on Extinction.

The South Island Kokako is one of New Zealand's great 'what if' stories, a peculiar bird described as the great wattled crow for its similarity to crows. They were briefly declared extinct in 2007, only to be downgraded to 'Data deficient' several years later after a sighting near Reefton was accepted as genuine.

Several hundred sightings have been submitted in the last forty years from across the South Island, but no birds have ever been found alive. That's not surprising, considering it was an elusive bird even when known to exist. Called the Grey Ghost of the forest (not to be confused with the dog from Footrot Flats), its haunting melody was heard more often than it was ever seen.

Like most Kiwis, I love mystery. The idea that a few Kokako might exist somewhere in the vast expanse of the South Island isn't outside the realm of possibility. Kokako can live upwards of twenty years. However, even if a single bird were discovered, it seems unlikely that the Kokako could be saved.

Any remaining birds would likely be too fragmented to be discovered in any significant numbers. Even if birds were found, it's unlikely that any females would remain, as populations tend to be male-dominated since nesting females are typically more vulnerable to predation.

Nevertheless, the story of the South Island Kokako raises fascinating questions from which we can learn. I'm going to release a series of posts exploring how modern technology could help us find a Kokako, the issues we face in translocation, modern Kokako sighting trends, and how and when we could have saved the Kokako.

The Last offical sighting of a South Island Kokako was in 1967 in Mt Aspiring National Park. 

Why Can't We Find Them?

The South Island Kokako was officially last recorded in 1967, but that wasn't the date of the last visual sighting; we still receive a handful of those every few years. In fact, more than three hundred sightings have been submitted since 1967. By way of comparison, less than forty submissions have been made to the Department of Conservation during roughly the same period for Kakapo on the mainland, despite it being known that they were present until at least the late 1980s.

Moreover, the standard of what is accepted as an official sighting of a Kokako seems to have shifted significantly over the years. To understand this, it's helpful to compare it to the Kakapo. The last visually confirmed Kakapo in the North Island was in 1927, reported by a 'reliable observer' familiar with the species. However, in 2004, when a Kakapo was visually observed by a reliable observer who was familiar with the species in the Jeanie Burn in Fiordland, it was not accepted as a definite sighting.

This isn't meant to undermine modern methods of confirming sightings of possibly extinct animals but to highlight that methodologies change. As time passes, the bar for accepting a sighting is continually raised higher and higher.

For someone to prove a South Island Kokako exists, you'd probably want multiple high-quality images or even a video. Ideally, with multiple witnesses and a way to confirm the location it was filmed. While not impossible, it makes it improbable that an observer would be able to identify and film a bird known for being elusive, even if they were to chance upon any remaining bird.

It's notable that the only accepted sighting of the South Island Kokako that has been considered genuine came from 2007. It involved two experienced observers who made multiple sightings of the same bird in good conditions in an area known to have been a former Kokako stronghold.

Astonishingly, even then, it was accepted as genuine by the NZ Ornithological Society's Records Appraisal Committee but, to my understanding, not by the NZ Department of Conservation, highlighting the differing standards between organizations in appraising the ongoing survival of species.

A 2007 South Island Kokako sighting was accepted a genuine

How Could We Find The South Island Kokako?

Let's consider the possibility that the South Island Kokako still survives. The good news is that it's probably easier to find a Kokako today than at any time in the last fifty years. Emerging technology is pushing the boundaries of how we might rediscover extinct species. One scenario that might sound like science fiction but is plausible involves a combination of drone technology and AI.

A thermal imaging drone could be used to create a rendered image of the South Island Kokako's living cousin, the North Island Kokako, and could be deployed over remote, inaccessible forests using thermal imaging to look for birds with similar physical characteristics or movement patterns. Thermal imaging drones are already being used to track pests across the Mackenzie Country.

Another option is the discovery that we can DNA test water and soil samples to determine the wildlife living in a particular region. A drone could theoretically be deployed across a wide-ranging river or stream network in a remote area, taking water and soil samples that could be returned to a laboratory at a low cost. These samples could then be analysed to determine if Kokako DNA is present. Soil sampling DNA testing was recently undertaken on Codfish Island Kakapo with promising results.

If a positive result is found, a team could move into the area and locate the bird with relative ease. Finding Kokako has always been akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. The resources required to locate even a handful of birds (if they exist at all) would have been monumental. Within a decade, the technology to do this at a low cost will probably exist. While it might come too late for the Kokako, it could benefit other conservation programs around the world.

Drone Technology could transform the search for endangered species

If the South Island Kokako Exists, Could We Save It?

When Did We Lose the South Island Kokako?

If the South Island Kokako is unlikely to be saved, we still have a question that's worth answering: When could we have saved it? We can make an educated guess by looking at the history of another program. In 1984/5, a survey of Stewart Island was commissioned to determine the extent of the surviving population of the critically endangered Kakapo. The study estimated that about forty-five Kakapo probably remained on the island. However, that same study reported that South Island Kokako were present in low but identifiable numbers in the area around Mt Rakeahua on Stewart Island.

Heading this survey was Rhys Buckingham, who had just returned from a Forestry Service Expedition from the head of Wakatipu that also reportedly sighted three South Island Kokako. The Wildlife Service was so confident in this study that its assistant director spoke in media interviews about how exciting 'the rediscovery of the Kokako' was.

A proposal was submitted to the newly formed Department of Conservation in 1987. However, no funding was available, and staff were advised to find funding from private sources. While the required sum was not disclosed, Forest and Bird estimated a decade prior that it would only require $30,000 to save the species.

Similarly, the Kakapo program was in serious danger of being abandoned in the late 1980s, and private funding was sought out by the newly formed Department of Conservation to continue efforts to save the species. Ultimately, the bizarre and more popular Kakapo managed to secure additional funding, but the mysterious Kokako did not. Recovery efforts were scrapped, and no further work was done (that I could find evidence of) to save the species on Stewart Island.

It’s perhaps the saddest part of our conservation history. We had two critically endangered birds in the same area, and we found the funds to save one, but not both. With that funding, we might have the South Island Kokako with us today.

Stewart Island may have been the last hope of the species

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