Community event

The Great Kererū Count

Friday 22 September 2017 - 1 October 2017

Venue:

The Great Kererū Count is NZ’s biggest citizen science project to help gather information on the abundance and distribution of the New Zealand pigeon — also known as kererū, kūkū or kūkupa.

Everyone in New Zealand can get involved with the Great Kererū Count, whether you see any kererū or not, sharing your observations with us will help build up a clearer picture of where the kererū live, how many there are and what they are feeding on. 

The humble kererū is one of New Zealand’s most valuable assets when it comes to our native forests. Long before humans came to this country, kererū have been undertaking the largest plant restoration project the country has ever seen. Kererū are the only bird left in New Zealand that are able to swallow and disperse the seeds from our largest native trees such as tawa, taraire, pūriri and mataiKererū can live for 21+ years and are essential for native bush regeneration. Their disappearance would be a disaster for our native forests.

Find out how you can get involved >>