The Takahē Rediscovered
A large blue-green bird was thought to have been extinct for 50 years, until a doctor went looking in the mountains and found it.
What was reported
The takahē is a large, flightless bird with blue and green feathers and a big red beak, found only in New Zealand. After only four specimens were collected in the 19th century, it was declared extinct in 1898.
Geoffrey Orbell, a doctor from Invercargill, believed it might survive in the remote Murchison Mountains. In November 1948, he led a small party there and found a living colony beside a mountain lake.
Explanations offered
The rediscovery made headlines around the world. The takahē is still rare and carefully protected, with numbers slowly growing thanks to conservation work. It shows that animals declared extinct are occasionally found again.
- When
- Declared extinct 1898; rediscovered 1948
- Where
- Murchison Mountains, Fiordland, New Zealand
- Witnesses
- A doctor and amateur naturalist, Geoffrey Orbell
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.