Wellington, Feb 19 NZPA - Efforts to re-establish New Zealand's rare orange-fronted parakeet the kakariki in the North Island centre on a population on Mayor Island, off the Bay of Plenty coast.

Mayor Island, or Tuhua, could soon hold the country's largest population of kakariki if a Department of Conservation (DOC) initiative to re-establish them there is successful.

The bird is listed as critically threatened and has been extinct in the North Island since the late 1800s.

Eight kakariki were from the South Island sent to Tuhua in December. A second group of 10 was transferred by DOC staff this week.

Tuhua Trust Board chair Magda Williams said the board welcomed the opportunity to provide a safe haven for the birds.

"This is a responsibility that we take very seriously and one day we hope that populations from Tuhua will assist in re-establishing the species to the mainland," she said.

"Given its predator-free status, Tuhua is a perfect habitat for the kakariki and we believe that, like the other endangered species on the island, they will thrive."

The island was already home to a small but thriving population of North Island brown kiwi as well as the pateke (brown teal), tuatara and toutouwai (North Island robin).

NZPA WGT mgr dj kn