Southland doctor Geoffrey Orbell (left) holds a takahē, with the help of Neil McCrostie. In November 1948, Orbell found takahē in Fiordland’s remote Murchison Mountains. The species had been presumed extinct, but Orbell was convinced he had heard a strange bird call when tramping in the area. He then tracked and located three of the birds. The Murchison and nearby Stuart mountains are the only sites where takahē thrive without human intervention. Orbell died in 2007, aged 98.