An aerial photo of the fire scene shows the burnt vegetation and the explosion crater on the beach. Rangihoua Pā is at the top of the ridge. Photo / supplied
No dead kiwi have been found at the scene of a fire triggered by a home-made explosive device, the Department of Conservation says.
DoC staff inspected the fire-ravaged flanks of Rangihoua Pā, on Purerua Peninsula in the northern Bay of Islands, on Tuesday in the wake of Saturday night's fire.
Senior ranger Adrian Walker said Rangihoua Heritage Park and the area around Marsden Cross was a stronghold for Northland brown kiwi.
"Some birds could have perished in the fire but there is no direct evidence of this. With little wind at the time hopefully any kiwi present had time to escape," he said.
Kiwi eggs were particularly vulnerable to fire but no nests were located in the burnt area.
