Rowi Project Blog

Last week I visited the coast for the annual rowi return. This is the part of the year rowi rangers love best, when they get to bring the healthy young kiwi back home to Okarito forest.

Smitha and daughter Gauri release rowi 'Dilly' into her new burrow in north Okarito forest.

Amongst the 15 birds being released were the two rowi named last year by Lynda and Jools Topp – ‘Pongo’ and ‘Dilly’. The Topp Twins wished their kiwi luck saying “Do us proud girls – go find yourselves a nice Kiwi bloke and multiply!”

I joined rowi team leader Duncan Kay to release Jools and Lynda’s birds.

Gauri meets her first kiwi (Pongo).

Scenic Hotel Group has recently come on board to help BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust support the Rowi Project. Randhir from Te Waonui Forest Retreat in Franz Josef, his wife Smitha and daughter Gauri (2 years) also came on the release to see their first rowi and help Duncan and I.

Randhir and daughter Gauri help rowi ranger Duncan Kay release

The 15 rowi eggs were removed from the Okarito forest to protect them from predators – stoats and other introduced pets as part of BNZ Operation Nest Egg. The kiwi were hatched at both the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef and Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch and have been raised to maturity on predator-free Motuara Island in the Marlborough Sounds.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on them now they are back in Okarito Kiwi Zone.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 28th, 2011 at 10:54 am by lizzy and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.