‘Biggest ever’ kiwi release on Taranaki Maunga
More than 100 kiwi are being released in Taranaki over the next few weeks, the largest number ever.
This season is “a significant step up” in the number of kiwi being rehomed on Kaitake and Taranaki Maunga, Taranaki Mounga Project co-director Sean Zieltjes said.
“Along with self-sustaining populations of kiwi from previous years of translocations, we are adding 110 kiwi this year and we aim to increase numbers year on year, so it’s absolutely normal for kiwi to have repopulated the maunga,” he said.
The exact kiwi population on the mountain was unknown.
However, in the 1990s it was estimated the population had dropped to 30-40 pairs.
In the past 18 years, 170 kiwi had been released and many were known to have paired up and had chicks.
Most of the kiwi being released this season are coming from Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, in South Waikato, in partnership with Ngāti Koroki Kahukura.
Several Taranaki kiwi were part of the founder population when the reserve,
New Zealand’s largest pest-proof fenced sanctuary, was created.
Now, some of their descendants were being returned.
Sixteen kiwi were released at Lucy’s Gully on Tuesday.
The birds were welcomed with a karanga led by Te Ingo Ngaia, from Ngā Mahanga a Tāiriby, to a gathering of conservation group members, iwi and hapu representatives from both regions, and families.
“It’s lovely to see all of you kids here, you are going to grow up in a Taranaki that has kiwi living here,” Taranaki Mounga Project pou atawhai Tāne Houston said.
He paid tribute to the various conservation organisations and their armies of volunteers who had made the releases possible, by doing all the pest control work.
“The trapping on the maunga is of the highest degree, it has proved itself to be a safe space for kiwi.”
Two of the kiwi were briefly lifted out of their boxes so people could see and photograph them, and were gifted names before they were released into the bush.
One was named Te Tui a Tāne and the other Timoti.
Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari cultural adviser Bodie Taylor said it was the biggest translocation they had ever done.
The birds were breeding so successfully, many needed to be moved to ensure there was enough space for them all, he said.
Another group of kiwi was released into Kaitake bush yesterday.
The first kiwi release of the season saw 10 birds from the Taranaki Kōhanga Kiwi at Rotokare, released last week near the Ngati Ruanui Stratford Mountain House.