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An irreplaceable collection of taxidermied birds was stolen from the display cabinet inside Sanctuary Hut at Tawharanui Regional Park in the early hours of January 3.
The theft was discovered by a park ranger and has confounded people working at the park, many of whom can’t understand why the birds would be targeted, given they are such bespoke items that wouldn’t be easy to sell.
Tawharanui Open Sanctuary Society (TOSSI) committee member Lyn Hamilton-Hunter said it felt very strange.
“It’s a random thing to want to steal but there must have been reason for it. Someone has seen some value in it because there’s no way you would jemmy open the cabinet, which was locked, and take them otherwise.
“If you were being mean you’d just vandalise the display or throw the birds on the ground or in the bush.
But they’ve actually been stolen – it feels planned to me, though whether or not there’s a black market for them I don’t know.”
The taxidermied birds that were taken include: a kaka, kakariki, kotare (kingfisher), ruru (morepork), tui, banded rail, and long tail cuckoo – the kereru was the only bird left behind.
Hamilton-Hunter said there was a massive volunteer element at Tawharanui, in particular from TOSSI, who were all feeling the loss.
“The volunteers are the ones who created the display back in 2012. They’re the ones who look after the cabinet, and it’s very special to them, so it affects all these people who put in all that time and effort into the park.”
She says it would basically be impossible to replace the collection of birds.
“Because where are you going to find a kaka, or banded rail that’s died of natural causes? Those things took years for people to accumulate.”
Hamilton-Hunter would like to make a plea to the public for any information that could lead to their recovery.
“If anybody knows or suspects somebody might have these birds, or if they’ve been offered a bird to purchase or seen them for sale somewhere please contact the police as we’d like to track them down,” she says.
Warkworth Police confirmed that seven native birds were removed from the locked display inside the hut (which is open to the public 24/7) and that a Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO) attended the scene.
“We’ve had some information from the public but it hasn’t borne any fruit yet. It’s mainly been people who have their suspicions or are voicing an opinion, but there’s been no evidence to follow up on yet,” Warkworth Police Sergeant Mark Stallworthy said.
The investigation was ongoing and would continue until the birds were recovered.
Anyone with any information about the stolen birds should contact Warkworth Police on 09 425 8109.
