Today’s photo shows DOC’s Mike Aviss (left) and Chris Birmingham (right) on Maud Island/Te Hoiere changing the transmitter on Rangi the takahē.
This image is one of the shots you’ll find in your feed when you follow DOC on Instagram.
Instagram is a free photo-sharing app for mobile devices. It allows us (and you!) to take, upload, edit and share photos.
By following DOC on Instagram you’ll be treated to images of the amazing species, places, plants, pursuits and people DOC gets to experience every day, taken by the rangers who are out there ‘doing it’.
Do you use Instagram? Let us know. We’re keen to connect!
Sirocco the kākāpō, our social media superstar and New Zealand’s Official Spokesbird for Conservation, was introduced to a new Japanese audience last month and gained thousands of devoted new fans as a result. Tourism New Zealand tells the story:
Sirocco kākāpō. Photo copyright: Janice McKenna
Sirocco the kākāpō has been charming a new international audience after a popular Japanese television show, with an audience in excess of 10 million, mentioned him during a feature on New Zealand in August.
When one of the presenters on the Sekai no Hatemade Itte Q! television show started talking about a kākāpō in New Zealand who had his own Twitter account, but could not recall the account name, the Tourism New Zealand team in Japan grabbed the opportunity to help and sent out a tweet introducing @Spokesbird:
“Looks like Sirocco is hooked on Twitter and Facebook! He said he wants a smart phone too, but the screen doesn’t work with his claws. There are only 124 kakapo alive today, and for Sirocco, every connection is an important one.”
Within a few hours this tweet had generated over 500 retweets and gained Sirocco the kākāpō over 2,000 new followers, all from Japan. Subsequent tweets about New Zealand’s native fauna and flora, as well as appeals to teach Sirocco Japanese, also proved popular with fans young and old.
One of the most popular tweets was when Sirocco tweeted:
“I’d love to fly over and visit you all in Japan, but I can’t because I’m the world’s only flightless parrot [sad face]. I’d love it if you came to see me though. I’ll be at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary in Dunedin from Sept 9 till Oct 6.”
The New Zealand parrot shot to fame in 2009 off the back of the BBC’s ‘Last Chance to See’ programme, when Sirocco attempted to mate with zoologist Mark Carwardine’s head. Footage of this event generated more than half a million hits on YouTube and had social network sites buzzing.
In January 2010 Sirocco was officially recognised as a conservation ambassador by the Prime Minister John Key, who named the parrot the “Official Spokesbird for Conservation”. Mr Key commented on Sirocco’s “worldwide fan base” who “hang on every squawk that comes out of his beak” and said Sirocco would focus attention on the plight of endangered species.
Sirocco will be on show from 6 Sept – 6 Oct at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary in Dunedin and bookings from Japan are already coming in, with one fan coming back to see Sirocco after visiting him two years ago.
Both the original BBC programme ‘Last Chance to See’ and the Japanese visit from ‘Sekai no Hatemade Itte Q!’ were supported by Tourism New Zealand’s international media programme, reinforcing that key messages from these visits have impact beyond just their in market on air screenings.
Connect with Sirocco on Facebook and Twitter. He’s looking forward to meeting you.
Today, I’m inviting you somewhere special. Not many people know about this place yet – you’re one of the first. The place is called Wildside and it’s a new social media community run by the Department of Conservation (DOC) on Facebook and Twitter.
With the tagline Aotearoa New Zealand. Live it. Love it. Look after it. Together. Wildside promises inspiring stories, images, videos and conversations about:
Living on the wildside – tramping, camping, biking, hunting…
Loving the wildside – our places, plants, animals, people…
Looking after the wildside – protecting, restoring… doing our bit.
And, importantly, Wildside is about doing it together.
We didn’t want another place on the web about ‘DOC the government department’. Wildside is for, and about, everyone.
Here at DOC we’re working towards making New Zealand the greatest living space on Earth – but this vision isn’t just ours, and we can’t do it alone. We want you to join the journey – and Wildside will be a great place to start. Will you join us?
