Haast Tokoeka Kiwi Sanctuary

Its 11,000 hectares rise from sea level to 1600 metres, with the upper alpine area frequently covered in snow. These higher reaches are dissected by major earthquake faults.

The sanctuary covers at least 85% of the area where Haast tokoeka are known to live. About 200 adult kiwi are estimated to live within the sanctuary, with a total population of about 350.

Stoats have been a major cause of the Haast tokoeka’s decline. Research also shows that recruitment of new birds to the population is low because breeding pairs lay few eggs (one or fewer each year).

Population modelling shows 40% of chicks need to survive to sustain the Haast tokoeka population. However, without management intervention, fewer than 10% of Haast tokoeka chicks survive to adulthood.

The Department of Conservation carries out intensive stoat control inside the sanctuary, and is also using BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ to help boost chick survival and secure the kiwi’s future.

Operation Nest Egg

Operation Nest Egg was first trialled at Haast during the 2003–2004 breeding season and is very successful. Eggs and wild-born chicks are taken to  a captive management facility where they are incubated and reared. Chicks are then moved to a predator-free crèche sites in Southland and kept there until they reach a stoat-safe weight of 1200-grams, and can be released back into the sanctuary.

It is expected that Operation Nest Eggwill help the Haast kiwi sanctuary’s population grow by 5-10% each year over the next five-to-ten years, and help to reach the long-term recovery goal of doubling the Haast tokoeka population by 2018.

Future management of Haast tokoeka

Researchers believe the best way to boost the slow-growing Haast tokoeka population is to stimulate the birds to produce more eggs, and to ensure more chicks survive.  While both can be achieved using  Operation Nest Egg in the short-term, managers want to find ways to achieve this in the wild so that it is more sustainable in the long term. Part of the answer may be to reduce competition for the kiwi’s food, as it is likely that better fed birds will produce more eggs. Some birds (10% of the population) have been transferred to habitat-rich pest-free kohanga areas, such as Coal Island and Orokonui Sanctuary, to see if breeding productivity and survival increases. As well, the kiwi’s main food competitors – rats and possums – are being controlled within the sanctuary.