"She was in a very bad state. She was dehydrated, her foot was cold and she was quiet, which is a bad sign, because female kiwis are usually very stroppy," she said, adding that most kiwi caught in leg-hold traps died as a result of the damage done to their vascular and neurological systems. Hours after Owhata's rescue a young male kiwi was found in another leg-hold trap nearby.
He was flown to Massey University's Wildbase Hospital, but he was too badly injured to be saved, and was euthanased.
Owhata responded to treatment, however, and, once stabilised, was sent to Kiwis for Kiwi advocate Wendy Sporle, who runs a specialist kiwi treatment facility from her Kaitaia home, for rehabilitation.
Ms Sporle, who has been caring for kiwi on a voluntary basis for 30 years, said injured birds needed round-the-clock attention.
They were voracious eaters, and Owhata's diet of worms had to be supplemented with ox heart chopped into thin slivers to look like worms.
"She initially rejected the ox heart, so I had to force feed her three times a day, and sometimes in the middle of the night," she said.
"Kiwi are hard to handle, especially when they are injured, and she made an unusual growling sound. Each feeding session took around 90 minutes, and was stressful for both of us."
Owhata's intensive 12-day rehabilitation took a lot of time, energy and emotion, she said, but seeing her returned to her natural habitat made all of the effort worthwhile.
"I really care about kiwi, and acknowledge just how special they are. It's vital that we all learn how to better protect them from both dogs and traps," she said.
DOC Kaitaia operations manager David Neho said the young man who set the trap that caught Owhata had been found.
"He is devastated, so hopefully positive lessons can be learnt from a bad situation. People need to be aware that kiwi can be living anywhere, and that leg-hold traps must never be placed on the ground. To keep kiwi safe, traps should always be raised at least 70cm off the ground."
