Photo: Tara Swan
Half a year ago, PΕ«kaha National Wildlife Centre was on the brink of closure.
The sanctuary - described as a taonga on the border of Wairarapa and Tararua - was in financial turmoil, forced to make a desperate bid for donations just as a stoush over a new home for an endangered bird hit the headlines.
Since then, the entire board has been replaced and a new general manager is at the helm.
But what became of the shore plover, the tiny wading bird at the centre of all the strife?
Photo: RNZ / Mary Argue
You hear them before you see them.
As Toby Cantwell moves towards the line of brand-new aviaries out the back of PΕ«kaha, a series of high-pitched cheeping erupts.
The conservation manager's footsteps signal breakfast and the shore plovers seem to know it. They're on high alert.
Today's menu includes a reddish-brown mush of minced ox heart, kitten biscuits, insects and supplements all mixed in individual bowls, plus a handful of live, wriggling, mealworms - bred onsite and handpicked stoically by Cantwell.
He hates creepy-crawlies but they afford him an important once-over of the birds, a visual health check.
"The mealworms are quite good, because that means
Continue Reading on RNZ
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.