DOC hunts predator after kiwi killed

Takaka the kiwi. Photo / Department of Conservation

The Department of Conservation is on the hunt for the killer of a great spotted kiwi in the Nelson Lakes National Park earlier this month.

The body of Takaka, an adult male, was found in the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project area on September 7. He is believed to have died some six days earlier.

DOC said a pathology report had identified wounds likely to have been caused by a predator. Due to the extent of decomposition it was not possible to determine exactly what animal killed it.

Doc said it was the first time a predator had been known to have killed a great spotted kiwi - or roroa - in the Lake Rotoiti area since the BNZ Save the Kiwi project attempted to re-establish a population there.

The department has set additional traps in the 5000ha project area since Takaka's death.

DOC Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project team leader Grant Harper said a ferret or a dog were the most likely animals to have killed the kiwi but a feral cat was also a possibility.

"Great spotted kiwi are the largest kiwi species so in general are more able then other kiwi species to defend themselves against predators. Takaka was a particularly strong and feisty bird, weighing around 2.5 kilograms when he died, so it would have taken a fairly large animal to kill him.

"Should it be a ferret or feral cat, we are hoping to catch it in traps put in around the area where Takaka was killed, additional to the extensive trapping we already have in place.

"Although dogs are not allowed in the national park, people sometimes still take them in or they roam into the park when running loose. Dogs are known killers of kiwi and we appeal to dog owners to keep dogs in the area under control and people should absolutely not take dogs into the national park."

Owners of dogs found in the national park risk prosecution and a fine of up to $10,000 or 12 months in jail or both, and further penalties if the dog harmed or killed kiwi.

Mr Harper said a closer watch was being kept on the other 21 kiwi in the project area.

" The reality is though birds can't be completely protected from predators in an unfenced area and losses are to be expected," he said.

"Two kiwi have died from natural causes and such losses will naturally occur in populations. We want though to prevent and minimise as best we can deaths due to predation and we are keen to find the animal responsible for killing Takaka."