Missy hatched at Wingspan in Rotorua to a falcon pair originally from the South Island, Aroha and Hamden. She was part of a second clutch of eggs, while her sibling Te Hau (another resident here at KFT) was part of the first clutch of eggs from the same pair.

Due to hatching so late in the season, by the time Missy was old enough to be transported to the South Island and potentially be released, it was already winter. During the winter months food becomes scarce.

With very little prey around for Missy to learn how to hunt, there was a high risk that she would have been unable to catch enough food and survival over the winter was unlikely.

The decision was made for Missy to join our restoration breeding programme once she reached sexual maturity. However, we have since found she is too aggressive to safely pair with other male kārearea in our programme with disabilities. Missy has a very strong “prey drive” and will be an excellent hunter. We hope to release her to the wild mid-spring 2025, when prey is the most abundant and if we can find a suitable site to enable a soft-release.

BRONZE - Leo & Remi Carpenter.

SILVER - Meaters of Marlborough Ltd, Blenheim, NZ

GOLD - Maitai Investments Ltd, Nelson, NZ

If you would like to adopt Missy - head to our Adopt a Falcon page.