The 'Nine Lives' of a Kiwi

Forest and Bird, Issue 302, 1 November 2001, Page 15

The 'Nine Lives' of a Kiwi

by

KARLI THOMAS

‘Toejam’ was a very special North Island brown kiwi who survived an astonishing series of threats before he was killed by a ferret, on a farm near Raetihi, recently. Toejam got his name after being caught by the toe in a leg-hold possum trap which had been set on the ground. He was rescued by the trapper who, we are happy to report, has since switched to raising his traps to a ‘kiwi-safe’ height. Toejam was taken to the Otorohonga Kiwi House to recuperate. After a few months he was released back into the forest remnant where he'd been caught, sporting a shiny new radio transmitter so his further adventures could be recorded. The following summer the next-door landowner clearfelled and burnt approximately 30 hectares of manuka, including about a third of Toejam's home range. Despite this setback, Toejam and his mate made a nest and Toejam started incubating the eggs. Cattle came very close, almost trampling the nest where Toejam sat. Department of Conservation staff approached the farm manager and he shifted the stock. Then the farm owner became interested, and is thinking about fencing off some of his forest remnants to secure their survival and greatly improve them as kiwi habitat. Even with the good intentions of the landowner, Toejam’s chicks had practically no chance of survival in the face of stoats, ferrets and cats, however. The eggs were taken to hatch at Rainbow Springs in Rotorua, and the chicks spent the first vulnerable months of their lives in safety as a part of ‘Operation Nest Egg’. Two chicks, nicknamed Tia Kariti and Tua, have now been released into the Karioi Rahui on southern Ruapehu, a managed area where predator control will give them a better chance of survival. The odds remained stacked against Toejam, however, and his luck finally ran out when he met a ferret. Predation is the main reason why the kiwi population declines by six percent throughout the North Island each year. On average, of every 20 North Island brown kiwi chicks, only one survives, and the population is being cut in half every decade. Toejam’s territory is now vacant, and will probably stay that way.

Forest and Bird is a partner, with the Bank of New Zealand and DoC, in the kiwi recovery programme, which runs ‘Operation Nest Egg’. The Society also advocates for greater rules under the Resource Management Act on issues such as stock fencing and vegetation clearance to protect habitat. The Society is also promoting a ban on keeping pet ferrets and control of predators such as feral cats, ferrets, stoats and weasels.