Prehistoric bird once thought extinct returns to New Zealand wild

Return of takahē – large, flightless bird – to alpine slopes of the South Island marks a conservation victory in New Zealand

Tā Tipene O’Regan, 87 years old, leaned into his carved walking stick and reached down to a large wooden box. He paused a second, then slowly lifted the lid. Out shot the hefty body of a bright turquoise bird, legs windmilling, launching from its cage like a football from a slingshot.

“I am now largely blind, but I still saw them,” O’Regan says: a flash of blue feathers and bright red legs racing for the tussocks.

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Eric Cantona hints he would be interested in role at Man Utd under Jim Ratcliffe

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