A kiwi which was savaged by a dog near Coromandel has been euthanised at Auckland Zoo.
The young adult female kiwi, named Jo, was being treated at the zoo for serious bite wounds following the dog attack earlier this month.
The zoo said Jo's wounds were reassessed this morning by vet An Pas, who found areas of dead tissue surrounding the original puncture wound had become too extensive to heal.
"Sadly, there was no way Jo was going to heal; the dead tissue had extended to all of her tail and into her cloaca. Putting her to sleep was the kindest thing that we could do,'' Dr Pas said.
Jo's death from a dog attack highlighted the need for the public to get on board and help keep kiwi safe from dogs this summer, she said.
