Big bite for Kereru
23/02/2011 5:07:00 p.m.
“There are signs that the loss of Rimu trees in Wellington might be because there are so few Kereru,” says Marc Slade, community programme manager of World Wildlife Fund New Zealand.
“A keystone species, these birds are the only ones able to swallow olive-sized berries of major forest trees,” he says.
The Rimu needs Kereru to digest its fruit so the seeds will germinate. Miro, Tawa and Matai berries also need to pass through the gut of a bird to start the germination process. The trees won’t develop unless the intestinal acids react with seed.
The Kereru Discovery Project has just received $10,000 from sponsors Nikau Foundation, which focuses on the Wellington region, Willscott Endowment Fund, WWF-New Zealand and Tindall Foundation. In this UN International Year of the Forests, funds were given for the protection of a bird vital to New Zealand’s native forest and its future.
The Kereru affects the whole ecosystem. It is a keystone species, and without it, major trees would struggle to survive.
“By looking after the Kereru we are looking after our forests,” Slade says.
The Kereru Discovery Project, focused on the preservation of New Zealand’s native pigeon, wants to raise awareness.
“Once people realise what threatens these birds, they’ll start to take action in their own backyards.”
