Save Our Iconic Kiwi
Introduction
Kiwi conservation under the banner 'Save our Iconic Kiwi' aims to halt the decline of kiwi numbers.Goal to increase kiwi numbers
Kiwi populations around the country are declining at an average of 2% a year – a serious situation. It’s mostly due to predation upon kiwi chicks by stoats, cats, dogs and ferrets. The goal for Save Our Iconic Kiwi is to turn this decline around, so that every type of kiwi is increasing in number.
DOC and Kiwis for kiwi received significant government funding in 2015 to Save Our Iconic Kiwi.
DOC's focus on South Island
DOC’s focus is on those kiwi species suffering the greatest rate of decline in the remote backcountry of the South Island:
- Fiordland tokoeka
- Rakiura (Stewart Island) tokoeka
- great spotted kiwi/roroa.
Kiwis for kiwi focus on North island
Kiwis for kiwi has a focus on the North Island, where the majority of community-led kiwi conservation is centred. Its focus is on growing populations at kōhanga kiwi sites, establishing a future source of kiwi for release to safe areas in the wild.
Success will come from gathering a better understanding of how to effectively manage kiwi and working in collaboration with others.
Fiordland tokoeka
In 2017, we started monitoring southern Fiordland tokoeka (kiwi) at Shy Lake, between Wet Jacket Arm and Breaksea Sound. The goal is to gather data before and after an aerial 1080 operation to ensure that we are controlling pests in large, remote areas of Fiordland in the most effective and efficient way to save the most kiwi.
In the absence of pest control, none of the chicks we monitored survived longer than a few weeks, and most were killed by stoats.
The Fiordland Kiwi Diaries
Read about the work the Save Our Iconic Kiwi team have done in our blog series, the Fiordland Kiwi Diaries. The posts are written by DOC Fiordland kiwi ranger Tim and they follow his journey, along with a handful of other dedicated DOC rangers, tracking down kiwi nests and monitoring chicks.
The research behind Save Our Iconic Kiwi
We already know that intensive trapping programmes in the South Island increase kiwi populations by about 1.2%, but our goal is a 2% increase. Previous research has shown that aerial 1080 operations increase North Island brown kiwi populations. We need to find out if aerial 1080 is a successful management tool for great spotted kiwi and Fiordland tokoeka (as they differ in productivity and behaviour to North Island brown kiwi and live in predominantly mast-driven ecosystems).
The Shy Lake project, which Tim blogs about, is a way to gather this information, and there’s also a great spotted kiwi chick recruitment study in Kahurangi National Park.
We can confidently conclude that stoats are the main threat to South Island kiwi at these sites.
From the information we now have, we know we need to manage larger areas of habitat to ensure we protect more South Island kiwi.
What we’re doing now
Monitoring results have shown a need for action. 1080 is proven to work safely, effectively and efficiently in reducing predators, and we need to use it to save our native wildlife and forests.
To protect southern Fiordland tokoeka, we’ve treated 37,000 hectares of habitat around Shy Lake, and will now measure chick survival after the operation. This will confirm if aerial 1080 is as effective at protecting Fiordland tokoeka as we know it is for North Island brown kiwi.
DOC has monitored over 600 kiwi through 1080 operations without any 1080-induced mortality. After the recent drop at Shy Lake, an aerial check of transmitter signals found that all 23 tokoeka signalled they were still alive.
