Kiwi ranger Ben Lovell releasing Austin the kiwi into his new burrow in Pukenui Western Hills Forest earlier this month. Photo/Tanya Cook
Kiwi ranger Ben Lovell releasing Austin the kiwi into his new burrow in Pukenui Western Hills Forest earlier this month. Photo/Tanya Cook
Kaitakihas headed towards the Whau Valley Dam, while Muhammad is off towards the Mangere Stream.
If you're wondering, those are two of 12 kiwi released into Pukenui Western Hills Forest earlier this month who have now ventured out of their temporary burrows to explore the forest.
Tanya Cook, chairwoman of the Pukenui Western Hills Forest Trust, said rangers headed into the forest on the Monday after the kiwi were released to start monitoring and tracking where they had moved to.
All the kiwi are still in the forest and their average time of activity is currently between six and nine hours.
"The last contact I had with one of the rangers, a couple of the birds had moved a reasonable distance. Not as far as they did last year, but some have moved quite a way," Cook said.
"Kaitaki has moved towards Whau Valley Dam, we've got a couple of kiwi from last year's release that are in that area so that's really cool. Another one, Muhammed, has moved into the Mangere Stream area and more towards Maunu," she said.
Pukenui Western Hills Forest Trustee Brooke Hartigan releasing the kiwi named after mosque terror attack victim Talha Naeem Rashid, 21, into the forest earlier this month. Photo/Tanya Cook
The 12 birds were caught in the Hauraki Gulf kiwi-creche island of Motuora and released into Pukenui Western Hills Forest to help set up a sustainable breeding colony.
Six of the 12 kiwi were named after the six youngest people killed in the Christchurch terrorist attacks - Mucaad Adan Ibrahim, 3, Sayyad Milne, 14, Muhammad Haziq Tarmizi, 17, Hamza Khaled Mustafa, 16, Talha Naeem Rashid, 21, and Tariq Rasheed Omar, 25.
Members of Northland's Muslim community were on hand and Imam Suhil Musa blessed the birds at Hurupaki School before they were released into the forest on April 6.
It came after first kiwi release in the forest in March last year, which has seen 12 kiwi adapt well to their new surrounds, so well that two chicks have hatched since.
The Department of Conservation gave its backing for a series of releases of about 40 birds over three years.
Cook said it was great to see the birds doing so well.
"It's fabulous. Bevan and Ben our rangers have a fabulous job but it's hard work monitoring the kiwi. They have to get all over the place in the forest to track them down, it's pretty steep in there."
Cook said the birds will start pairing up to breed in the next month.
"People who are out and about near the forest at night might start hearing quite a bit of calling.
"The kiwi incubate for a good 80 days so we would expect definitely to have more kiwi towards the end of the year," she said.
