Kiwi handler Renee Potae shows families a kiwi at the release site in Tongariro National Park.
Kiwi handler Renee Potae shows families a kiwi at the release site in Tongariro National Park.
As the sun rose over Maungatautari on a crisp and misty morning in the Waikato, little did nine of the kiwi living there know that they would be watching it set over another mountain, more than 150kms away.
They certainly didn’t know that this moment had been 18 years in the making, beginning in 2005 when the first juvenile kiwi were introduced to the predator-free Sanctuary Mountain.
The nocturnal birds snoozed away in their chosen hiding places, completely unaware of the historic moment that they were about to be a part of, as a gaggle of humans from Save the Kiwi, Department of Conservation and Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari rose bright and early to make their way to the sanctuary’s Southern Enclosure.
Kiwi were transported to Tongariro National Park in specially-made boxes.
The plan was straightforward enough; catch eight kiwi, transport them to Tongariro National Park, and release them there so they could start their lives in the wild.
In between the start and end of this inevitably busy day, there would be two brief, but emotional ceremonies- a farewell for the kiwi by whānau from Ngāti Korokī Kahukura at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, and a pōwhiri for the travelling iwi and their precious cargo by Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro at their Otukou marae in National Park.
As long as the day would be, it was the blink of an eye compared to the nearly two-decades long process to get to this point.
When the 47km-long fence around the mountain’s established native bush was finished, there were no kiwi living there.
It had, of course, once been home to the flightless birds, but introduced mammalian pests such as stoats had killed them all.
Working with Save the Kiwi, Tongariro National Park’s iwi, Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro, stepped in to help re-establish a population of kiwi there.
They began a tono process- a reciprocal sharing of mana, with one of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari’s iwi, Ngāti Korokī Kahukura.
This saw them gift four young birds to the sanctuary as part of a new founding population.
The sanctuary acted as a kōhanga; a safe, fenced space that was regularly monitored to ensure there were no pests to harm the kiwi and other native birds living there.
When the number of kiwi reached a certain threshold, some birds would be caught and returned to their ancestors’ original homes, to bolster wild populations.
This part went according to plan- albeit much, much faster than expected.
Save the Kiwi ranger Will Kahu, who was up bright and early to catch one of the birds, said that the project was even more of a success than Save the Kiwi and Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari had dared to hope.
“The population modelling showed that over 28 years, there were going to be 300 pairs, so 600 birds.
“But, we’re at 18 years now, and there’s estimated [to be] over 2,000 birds.”
“It’s exceeded everyone’s expectations, and we’re at the point now that Ngāti Korokī Kahukura can start gifting birds back to Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro.”
Kiwi handler Tori Budd and kiwi ranger Will Kahu use aerials to track the kiwi, which have small radio transmitters attached to their legs.
And so, just after dawn on Friday April 21, small groups geared up to track down and retrieve eight birds.
Getting to this point was only possible because of the vision of groups like Save the Kiwi, who were determined that Aotearoa New Zealand’s national bird should be more than a memory in history books.
There had been decades of hard work, inventing new systems, and developing the fields of predator control, habitat restoration and kiwi husbandry.
It was now paying off, said Erin Reilly, Save the Kiwi’s marketing and communications manager, who was also on hand at the catch and release.
“It’s amazing.
“It proves what needs to be done to build a threatened population quickly.
“Also, it’s indicative of this being a perfect site for growing kiwi.”
The kiwi handlers carried aerials, which picked up signals from small radio transmitters that had been attached to the birds’ legs over the last two weeks, as kiwi were caught and assessed for their suitability as part of the release program.
It was then down to their tracking skills to hone in on where the kiwi had stopped to rest.
Kiwi ranger Will Kahu carefully contains the kiwi he tracked, to be taken for its health check ahead of relocation.
They made this needle-in-a-haystack task look remarkably easy, rounding up all of the planned birds in about an hour.
They even went above and beyond here, as one handler reached in to gently grasp a bird by its legs, only to discover that they were holding on to one leg each of a pair- the kiwi they had been tracking, and its unexpected mate.
Kiwi usually mate for life, so these birds were later relocated together, to enable them to continue their special bond.
This meant that, in typical Save the Kiwi fashion, the target of eight birds was exceeded and nine were sent off to their new homes.
The nine caught kiwi were scanned for microchips to check their identity as part of their health checks before being relocated.
Once the kiwi were assembled, they were each given a health check, with their microchips, weight and general health given a once-over.
Every bird passed with flying colours, so the next task was a fond farewell.
Members of Ngāti Korokī Kahukura assembled with Department of Convservation and Save the Kiwi staff, sharing words and waiata before processing along the kiwi boxes in single file, poignantly touching each one to say goodbye.
The assembled crowd- both bird and human- then loaded into vehicles for the two-hour drive to Otukou Marae in Tongariro.
Tangata whenua Ngati Hikairo o Tongariro were joined by Ngati Koroki Kahukura members, Department of Conservation and Save the Kiwi staff ahead of the kiwi release into Tongariro National Park.
There, the Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro delegation was welcomed, along with the kiwi, with a pōwhiri onto Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro’s grounds.
Representatives from both iwi spoke of the momentous nature of the occasion, and the importance of returning kiwi to landscapes across the country.
Bubs Smith, a representative of Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro, said that the event was an opportunity both to thank those who had helped along the way, and inspire the kiwi guardians of the future.
“Huge gratitude to everyone involved, and the ones that are behind the scenes- the hard yards, the pest control, with a whole lot of challenges.”
“It is great for everyone to have an opportunity to get up close to our kiwi. Now our young ones are the kaitiaki of the future.”
The final step in the long journey was the moment everyone had been waiting for-the return of the kiwi to their ancestral home.
Members of both iwi accompanied the birds to the release site, an area of native bush within National Park.
Kiwi handler Renee Potae releases a kiwi into the bush at Tongariro National Park.
Rangers including Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro’s own Will Kahu showed the assembled families the kiwi, giving them an opportunity to say thank you and goodbye, before releasing the birds for their first steps into true wilderness.
The iwi and the Department of Conservation will monitor the birds’ welfare going forward, but for the most part, they’re free to live their new, wild lives.
Michelle Impey, Save the Kiwi’s executive director, said the moment was an important milestone on the way to their ultimate goal- turning the current 2% annual decline of kiwi populations into a 2% increase.
“We joke about the job not being done until kiwi are a pest, but for us to reverse the decline all over New Zealand; that really is the result we’re looking for.”
“Aotearoa used to be home to millions of kiwi, and now there are around 68,000.
“A lot of work needs to be done before kiwi are in the millions again, but we have confidence that one day soon, the national kiwi population will shift from a decline into growth.”
