Remarkable discovery of Kiwi in Pest Eradication Project
Pest Free Onetahua — April 23, 2024 — It’s exciting news for conservation in North West Golden Bay, with Pest Free Onetahua discovering a great spotted kiwi in their project area. Once common in the area, there have been no sightings of kiwi in the hills behind Pūponga for decades and the nearest known population is over 25km away.
Just 4 days ago, the team discovered the unexpected kiwi footage from a trail camera. The remarkable find, described as "incredibly exciting" by Project Lead Brian Alder, is a huge boost to the project’s mission of creating a predator-free environment. "This is a game changer," remarked Alder. "Finding a kiwi in our project area is not only incredibly exciting, but it really solidifies the importance of removing all the pests. Now we’ve got lots more questions; like are there more kiwi here, how did it get here, and what lies undiscovered in this unique region?" said the Project Lead.
↓ Watch the video below ↓
The thrilling news comes at a pivotal moment, just days before a final hunt by Pest Free Onetahua, to completely eradicate feral pigs from Farewell Spit. Field Officer Bert Harris, described the moment he saw the kiwi on his computer screen as "a bit of a shock." He’d gone out especially to bring in the camera footage to look for pigs - before the upcoming pig hunt, and couldn’t believe his eyes “I did a triple take, before telling the team – we’ve found a kiwi!” Margie Little, chair of Manawhenua Ki Mohua, is brimming with hope after hearing the news, “it’s just awesome to find a vulnerable tāonga living in this wāhi tapu, it’s going to propel us forward on our shared pest free journey”.
Department of Conservation Golden Bay Operations Manager Ross Trotter said the great spotted kiwi sighting in Pūponga Recreation Reserve was astonishing and significant. “We’ll work with Pest Free Onetahua to find out if there are other great spotted kiwi in the area where the kiwi was seen”. “Acoustic recorders will be put out to record bird calls, including any kiwi calls, to help find this one, and others in the wider area”. “We’re grateful to Pest Free Onetahua, and HealthPost Nature Trust for their efforts in the area to protect native species and increase their abundance. This ongoing work will help protect this kiwi, plus any other kiwi that might be in the area.”
This unexpected sighting of a kiwi - thought to be a great spotted kiwi - was caught on a conservationist camera near Farewell Spit, in Golden Bay. Kiwis have not been detected within 25km of the site in decades, conservationists said. Image: SUPPLIED / Pest Free Onetahua.
HealthPost Nature Trust’s Project team have been trapping in the region since 2017, with trust chair Peter Butler having long recognised the attributes of this unique area. Finding a great spotted kiwi was completely unexpected - and of course wonderful news for what they’re striving to achieve. HealthPost Nature Trust’s work is centred around protecting the remnant shearwater colonies along the northern coast here, and has over 700 traps deployed in the area. The pest fence at Cape Farewell protects a translocated colony of shearwaters also. “Trust volunteers, some of whom live close to the kiwi sighting, have put in a huge commitment of time and will be stoked to hear of this taonga in the area” said the Nature Trust’s Project Co-ordinator Marian Milne.
Great spotted kiwi, or roroa, are the largest of the kiwi species and are only found in the top half of the South Island, mainly in mountainous habitats. Despite their weighty size, roroa chicks are still vulnerable to stoats and dogs.
Read more in the Nelson Mail
For media inquiries, please contact:
Brian Alder, Pest Free Onetahua Project Lead – 027 292 1799
Andrea McLeay, Pest Free Onetahua Communications – 022 101 8672
Trish Grant, Department of Conservation, tgrant@doc.govt.nz – 027 556 1859,
Margie Little, Manawhenua Ki Mohua Chair – 027 525 9148
Debbie Hannan, Health Post Nature Trust Comms – 021 871 685
