By Jimmy Ellingham, Manawatū reporter
A museum missing a prized huia bird stolen from its collection has issued a plea for the stuffed animal's return.
Photo: Dannevirke Gallery of History
The female huia was taken from the Dannevirke Gallery of History in July 2020.
One man is in jail after admitting offences including the huia's theft, while another man was last week found not guilty of stealing the bird. However, the huia's location remains a mystery, robbing the museum of one of its star attractions.
Museum vice-president Murray Holden said it would accept back the bird, valued at $15,000, no questions asked.
Museum staff understand it might have ended up in the Ōtaki area and remain hopeful of its return.
The huia was one of a pair donated to the museum and displayed there since it opened in 1988, having originally been given to a couple as a wedding gift in the late 1890s. The male huia remains in its display case, missing its mate.
"We've asked on a number of occasions for it to be returned and it hasn't been returned to date, so we definitely want the bird back. Somebody out there knows something about it," Holden said.
Te Ara encyclopaedia says huia became extinct in the early 20th century, after a rapid decline in numbers in the late 19th century.
Holden said the birds were sacred to Māori, and their feathers were worn by chiefs and important figures.
They were also unusual in that males and females worked together to hunt food, making use of their differing beaks.
"To me the theft of the female huia is up there with the theft of war medals, which occurred from the Waiouru army museum.
"These are treasures, taonga that all New Zealanders need to see, and that's why they're in a museum, so people can actually see them."
The male huia had its tail feathers stolen in 2012. On that occasion, the thief tried to steal the female bird, but couldn't remove it from its display case.
Tail feathers could be worth thousands of dollars and were sought after by collectors, Holden said.
The 2020 theft was discovered by the museum's volunteer staff two days after it happened.
The museum had CCTV footage of two people who visited, leaving false details in its contact book, and removing the bird.
The pair parked outside the Dannevirke police station, so its cameras caught their vehicle's registration.
Holden said visitors to the museum deserved to see the birds together.