Kiwi connected to Taranaki to return
While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex didn’t make it to Taranaki during their recent visit to New Zealand, they did make a special connection with the region while they were in the country.
Brent Woodhead, the chief executive of the East Taranaki Environment Trust Purangi Kiwi Project, says one of the two kiwi the royal couple met when in Rotorua originated from Purangi Kiwi and will eventually return there as well.
Prince Harry named the kiwi Tihei says Brent.
“This comes from the phrase tihei mauriora which translates to the sneeze of life.”
Tihei’s dad is a Western Brown kiwi from Purangi called Redwood. Redwood was named after the area where he was first discovered, in a grove of Redwood trees beside the hidden valley walk.
Brent says the tracking transmitters on Redwood and another male kiwi called Trev went into what is known as failure.
“These do have a limited life, needing to be replaced annually.”
He says in replacing the trackers, they discovered Redwood was sitting on two eggs, while Trev had an egg as well as a weekold chick.
“When male kiwis sitting on eggs or chicks are disturbed, there is a real danger they will abandon the burrow.”
Brent says they decided to transport the eggs and chick to the Rainbow Springs Nature Park to be cared for there.
Tihei hatched just in time to be visited and officially named, although at this early stage it is unknown of Tihei is a he or a she Brent says.
“At this early stage of their life, you cannot determine if it’s a boy or a girl.”
Purangi Kiwi is a community-led project that relies on the support of individuals, charitable trusts and corporates like Methanex who sponsor the ko¯ kako there. It’s a largescale landscape project covering 13,000ha located at Purangi in East Taranaki. This is home to 4000 western brown kiwi.
People can get involved with the Purangi Kiwi project in several ways. This can include giving time through volunteering, sponsoring a kiwi, sponsoring a trap, a bequest through Te Karaka or sharing the project’s story with friends and family.
■ Find out more: www.purangikiwi.co.nz