Suzy Barlow

That includes redrafting the kiwi captive management plan, co-ordinating data for the Operation Nest Egg programme, and liaising with the various institutions that have captive kiwi.

Originally from Jersey, in the Channel Islands, Suzy immigrated to New Zealand in 1989.  Today she works for the ZAA NZ (Zoo and Aquarium Association, New Zealand),  which links more than 70 zoos and aquariums across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in a network for wildlife conservation, environmental education and wildlife research. It’s in her role with ZAA NZ that Suzy provides expertise in using captive recovery to create sustainable populations of endangered species.

Why kiwi?

When Suzy first arrived in New Zealand she worked for a vet based in Kerikeri, and they frequently had to deal with brown kiwi injured by dogs. "Back then, people still thought kiwi were okay, ‘common’, but it was obvious there were major issues not being addressed." Since then she has worked for Auckland Zoo, and in Australia for nine years, mainly focussed on sustainable animal collection management and species recovery work for Australian zoos. Today Suzy works part-time for ZAA NZ and is based in Whangarei. "Being on the recovery group is part of the job, and I’m very happy to get the opportunity to work with kiwi again," she says.

High point

Suzy says a high point of her work with the Kiwi Recovery Group has been finding out the scale of predator control work being done at local level in kiwi habitat all around New Zealand. “By default it helps the recovery of other native animal and plants, and I had no idea of the number of projects working for kiwi around New Zealand—it is impressive,” she says.

Another high point in Suzy’s kiwi career has been experiencing the advocacy work being done with communities—such as attending kiwi releases at Whangarei Heads. “That was very cool.”

She says it is a joy to share the progress made by captive kiwi facilities each breeding season. And, finally, Suzy is delighted that the 2010 Kiwi Captive Management Plan has been completed, which sets the strategic direction for captive management of the birds. The Strategy supports captive advocacy and the development of a sustainable captive population

Low point

Without a doubt, Suzy says her low point is: “The depressing fact that most people I talk to have never even seen a live kiwi. Worse, many people seem to have no idea about the fantastic work that is being done by so many people to help kiwi in the wild.” Along with the dog and cat issue, this poses a major challenge for the Trust, she says. “We still need to increase our advocacy efforts."

Thoughts for the future

For Suzy, the key is in advocacy and getting the message across. “We need more advocacy. More Kiwis need to meet a kiwi,” she says. “We need to continue to raise awareness about the work being done in so many areas of the country and we need to keep ensuring people know about dog and cat control—it’s a huge job.”