Karori Wildlife Sanctuary

We visited the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary over the weekend. It's a preserve just outside the city of Wellington, mostly for birds but they also have habitat for tuatara (ancient lizards) and weta (giant bugs).




















Maribeth at the gate headed beyond the fence into the Karori bird sanctuary. The fenced boundary gave it a Jurassic Park feel.

The fence really isn't this tall throughout the park but it is effective at keeping certain predators out of the park. It is tall enough to keep the possum from leaping over and has an over hanging top hat to keep animals from climbing over. The fence is also tight meshed to keep smaller animals from squeezing through.

Here is the fence from afar.




















This is the Kaka. I believe this bird was virtually extinct from the main islands of NZ, but has made a small comeback due to the formation of this reserve.




















This is the Tui. This bird probably has the most interesting and varied bird song. It is known to mimic other birds and other animals as well. The populations of the Tui in the Wellington area have increased substantially since the completion of this sanctuary.