A rare golden-coloured eel is happily swimming with the rest of the herd after being found during restoration work at the Foxton River Loop.
The bright yellow eel was considered an extremely rare find and a taonga by on-site iwi partners Ngati Raukawa, who worked alongside Horowhenua District Council and Foxton Wildlife Trust in catching and releasing more than 1600 eel back into the river recently.
Ecologists from the Wildlife Foxton Trust and cultural monitors from Ngāti Raukawa helped remove tuna (eels), inanga (whitebait) crabs and yellow-eyed mullet from the area prior to silt being removed.
On-site ecologist Caitlin Lavery was working alongside kaitiaki Toha Eparaima, wading through mud and plant life catching any river wildlife that had been disturbed and releasing it safely downstream a short time later.