Kiwi advocate excited at progress
Kiwis for Kiwi advocate Wendy Sporle is excited that the forestry industry is increasing their awareness around our national icon.
The Takahue resident has been working with kiwi for 28 years by rehabilitating injured birds in her clinic and in her role with Kiwis for Kiwi advising, consulting and providing resources on kiwi management.
She was told by a group of forestry workers working at Taupo Bay that they had once chucked a peanut butter sandwich onto the ground only to be stunned a while later when a female adult kiwi approached it.
Recently she has been involved in developing and delivering guidelines to forestry companies so they know what to do if they find a kiwi or its nest as well as what they can do to manage pest control.
‘‘It’s exciting, we have high level forestry managers asking what they can do to help. We are establishing trust and a relationship, they are coming on board and looking at the ecological benefits.
‘‘People sometimes think the forestry industry is negative and inconsiderate of indigenous ecology but that’s not the case they genuinely care.’’
Sporle says she teaches forestry workers what they should do if they find an injured kiwi, how to carefully pick up an egg so it is safe for incubation and how to be aware of kiwi in areas they are working in.
She says there is still plenty to do to raise awareness throughout the country on how people can help to protect our special native bird.
An average of 27 kiwi are killed every week according to Kiwis for Kiwi. Sporle says the biggest killer of chicks are stoats, with dogs the single biggest threat to adult birds.
‘‘We need to personalise the issue, because people think their dog wouldn’t do it, but it is instinctive.
‘‘There are an awful lot of tears when one doesn’t make it.’’
She often hears a male kiwi calling in nearby bush.
‘‘He is always reminding me they need help.’’
As a trained mental health nurse and counsellor Sporle never imagined kiwi would be such a big part of her life.
‘‘It’s not just a job, it is all encompassing.’’