Last week, 18 takahe were released in mountains in South Island to try to boost a small population in the wild.

Celebrity endorsements saw Stephen Fry for instance back the kakapo - of which there are only 150 animals left - while Bill Bailey supported the takahe.

But four takahe birds were shot dead instead.

There are only about 300 takahe birds left in the world, and the species was thought to be extinct as late as 1948, Radio New Zealand reports.

Conservationists have long worked to control the populations of the takahe's predators - stoats, feral cats, ferrets and rats.