Rescued kiwi thrive in Brynderwyns but dogs pose a threat

 

Back in June the adult kiwi population in the Brynderwyns was increased when six birds were unexpectedly released at Marunui Conservation by the Department of Conservation. They were some of the 18 kiwi rescued from the Motuora Island kiwi creche in the Hauraki Gulf where prolonged drought severely affected their ability to find food and water.

Three males and three females were delivered by the rescue team comprising Ayla Wiles (DOC), Todd Hamilton (Backyard Kiwi), Ngaire Sullivan (Kiwi Coast) and Rolf Fuchs (NRC).

Each bird was health checked and not surprisingly they were found to be in poor condition and underweight for their size and age. All came fitted with transmitters to enable them to be tracked and monitored.

The good news is that all have since been caught for assessment and have quickly gained condition and weight ranging up to 500gm. The smallest male, named Iti, weighed only 1200gm on arrival. This is the minimum weight for a kiwi to be released from the creche and considered able to fight off a stoat. Iti has since put on 380gm, well on the way to achieving an average weight for male kiwi.

This impressive health improvement indicates their new habitat is providing a rich source of food and a good home. They join the existing population released there between 2013 and 2015. In particular, Marunui was chosen because it has had comprehensive predator trapping for over a decade. Every year hundreds of hours are donated by volunteers who help keep kiwi safe by servicing traps for stoats, ferrets, weasels, feral cats, possums and rats.

Local roaming dog pack threatens new kiwi
The Department of Conservation has identified dogs as a prime killer of kiwi in Northland. As kiwi expand their territories close to or beyond Marunui’s boundaries they become vulnerable to uncontrolled dogs on private properties. New female Whero is one such kiwi as she moves west, close to Jude and Pebblebrook Roads.

Anxious residents in the Jude Road Forest Care group have alerted Kaipara’s Dog Ranger and Marunui to the existence of a pack of up to five dogs regularly roaming the area between 11pm and 4am. They have been filmed several times on a security camera, seen running towards Marunui’s bush which bounds the property, clearly hunting as a pack.

“It would be tragic if all the community effort put into rescuing and protecting these birds ends with a kiwi fatality caused by irresponsible dog ownership, says Marunui kiwi handler John Hawley. “We want to celebrate these new kiwi rather than fear for their death, so we urge owners to keep their dogs under control during the day and locked up at night"