With about 250 birds (2003 figures), it is classified as "nationally critical" and in urgent need of management on the mainland. Rowi (Apteryx rowi) is distinguished from the Brown Kiwi  by its soft and slightly greyish plumage, sometimes accompanied by white facial feathers.

Surveys of Rowi began in 1992, and by 1998 the population was estimated to be just 140 birds.

Efforts to Protect Rowi
Early attempts to control possums and stoats at Okarito failed to improve the survival of enough chicks to maintain the population there. However, Operation Nest Egg efforts have helped turn this around.

In the year 2000, the Rowi’s home forest was turned into one of New Zealand’s five special kiwi sanctuaries, using funding for the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy. 

The Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary covers about 11,000 hectares of dense lowland forest (podocarp/broadleaf) between Okarito and the Waiho River.

Intensive stoat trapping continues in the sanctuary, as stoats are the biggest threat to kiwi eggs and chicks.

It is thanks mainly to Operation Nest Egg and the stoat control regime that Rowi’s numbers have increased to about 250 birds.  In 2003/04, the estimated average lifespan of adult birds was increased.  This is good news, as kiwi researchers now estimate only 16 per cent of Rowi chicks hatched each year need to reach 1000 grams to allow the population to increase.