Takahe Chick Gets Eye Operation

Massey University
News Release
Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Takahe Chick Gets Eye Operation

A takahe chick is recovering at Massey’s wildlife ward after surgery to repair its eye.

The eight-week-old bird, named Turnbull, was flown to the ward yesterday from Te Anau.

The hand-reared bird from the Burwood Bush rearing unit had been pecked by an adult bird, tearing the third eyelid flap on one of its eyes.

Department of Conservation staff noticed the injury and flew it up to the wildlife ward, where it was operated on today by veterinary ophthalmologist Dr Craig Irving.

Wildlife vet Kerri Morgan says the surgery went very well. “The extent of the injury was not as severe as we anticipated,” she says. “The amount of surgical intervention was in the end pretty minimal. We cut off some dead tissue and it looks as though the eyelid will heal and return to normal function.”

Turnbull recovered quickly from the surgery and staff hope he will be able to return home in a few days.

“Hopefully the eye will fully heal so he can be released into the wild at some stage,” Ms Morgan says.

The takahe is the largest living member of the rail family and was once thought to be extinct. It is a flightless bird similar to a pukeko that lives in the grasslands of alpine areas. There are now about 250 birds in the wild. Mitre 10 sponsors the department’s takahe programme.

The ward is part of the University’s Institute of Veterinary Animal and Biomedical Sciences. As well as being the only specialist wildlife facility in the country, the health centre plays a key role in training both undergraduate and postgraduate veterinary and veterinary nursing students.

ENDS

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