Wild South - Sanctuary

Television (Full Length) – 1990

This Wild South edition joins two legendary New Zealand wildlife documentarians — photographer Geoff Moon and sound recordist John Kendrick — on a 1988 trip to Kāpiti Island. Rangers are learning about, and looking after, the sanctuary’s manu (birds), who are “biological refugees” from the mainland, escaping introduced predators. Dogs monitoring kiwi, a kākā census, and tīeke (saddleback) nest boxes are featured. The two old mates narrate the visit, which includes Moon building a bush hide, and footage of a pioneering 1964 tīeke relocation from Hen Island.

I’ve noticed a tremendous difference in the foliage of the forest since the possums have been exterminated. It’s really amazing to see the regeneration ... plants sprouting up all over the place. And of course this is going to have a tremendous beneficial effect on the whole ecology, and particularly birds.
– Geoff Moon