A successful start in setting up a new great spotted kiwi population in Nelson’s Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project has led to plans to boost the population with another five pairs next year, as part of Bank of New Zealand Kiwi Recovery.

Department of Conservation St Arnaud Biodiversity Programme Manager Brian Paton said moving another 10 kiwi to the Rotoiti project area in Nelson Lakes National Park would create a more robust founder population.

“Our efforts to establish a great spotted kiwi population in the Rotoiti area are experimental as relocating kiwi of this species hadn’t been tried in recent times. It has gone tremendously well so far with the kiwi settling into the area and breeding occurring in the first year. On that basis, we can now look at moving a second group of kiwi into the Rotoiti area and we plan to introduce another five pairs around April or May next year.

“We are very encouraged by how well the kiwi have adapted to their new environment and it is exciting to be taking it to the next step: bringing in more kiwi to build the population. This is still a trial though and it is early days in terms of whether or not a breeding population establishes at Rotoiti.”

Five males and four females were released into the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project area in May last year in the first phase of re-introducing great spotted kiwi/roroa to the project area. The birds’ movement is monitored using radio transmitters and they were all caught and checked a year on from their release. They were found to be healthy – most having put on weight. Early this year signs were found that a kiwi chick had hatched.

The kiwi moved to Rotoiti were wild birds taken from the Gouland Downs area of Kahurangi National Park. Mr Paton said it had not yet been decided where the next 10 kiwi would come from.

“There are various great spotted kiwi populations around the South Island that could be considered. One possibility we will be exploring is sourcing kiwi from the same general area of Kahurangi National Park as last time but from a new location at least a few kilometres away. We will be discussing that option with the local DOC staff and the Golden Bay iwi, Manawhenua ki Mohua.”

The Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project is restoring 5000 hectares of honeydew beech forest. Predator numbers are kept down with intensive pest control. A project goal is the re-introduction of species that had disappeared from the area and roroa is the first species to be returned there. It is also a goal of Bank of New Zealand Kiwi Recovery to increase the number of places in which kiwi live.

For more information:

DOC St Arnaud Area: Brian Paton - Phone: + 64 3 521 1806

DOC kiwi information: Paul Jansen - Phone: +64 4 471 3236 or 025 410 026

Bank of New Zealand Kiwi Recovery Trust:

Kieron Goodwin - Phone: +64 9 375 1084 or 029 478 4610