Scion scientist Karl Molving and kiwi practitioner Blake Cole provided guidance for Robo-Kiwi’s development.
Scion scientist Karl Molving and kiwi practitioner Blake Cole provided guidance for Robo-Kiwi’s development.
Our national icon has a new protector - and it’s a robot.
A project involving Scion, the National Kiwi Hatchery in Rotorua and students from the University of Canterbury is helping to protect the kiwi from one of its greatest predators in the wild – dogs.
Four engineering students, supervised by Scion, have developed a tool that can be used to support kiwi avoidance trainers; to discourage dogs from attacking and killing kiwi in forests, native bush and other areas where they live.
While stoats posed the largest risk to kiwi chicks, uncontrolled dogs were the biggest threat to adult kiwi, causing about 70 per cent of deaths in the wild, Crown Research Institute Scion said in a statement.
Avoidance training was used to discourage dogs from attacking kiwi.
Field trials had demonstrated that their new Robo-Kiwi - a model bird with moving legs propelled along a rail - provoked a stronger response in dogs than traditional training.
This allowed practitioners to assess the behaviour of dogs when they were put through their paces and ensured a greater proportion of them could be successfully trained.
Emma Craig, Kiwi Avoidance Training (KAT) coordinator with Save the Kiwi, hoped further trials and final modifications to the prop’s design would mean it could be approved by the Department of Conservation and KAT Steering Group soon so it could be rolled out to support training throughout the country.
“The prototype has shown enormous potential when we’ve used it in typical kiwi avoidance training scenarios. Some dogs show little interest in the static props, but we get stronger reactions from dogs when we use the moving prop.
“For them to get trained to avoid kiwi, we have to get the dogs to engage and associate kiwi with an unpleasant experience. That’s what this is helping us to achieve.”
For many years, a static model of a kiwi had been one of the props used for training, but a small number of dogs didn’t engage with it.
After identifying the need for a more life-like kiwi movement for avoidance training, kiwi practitioner Blake Cole and National Kiwi Hatchery manager Emma Bean worked on a project brief and discussed it with Scion towards the end of 2021.
Scion and the hatchery were already familiar partners after working together on a project to deliver another training aid for kiwi conservation volunteers - 3D printed kiwi legs.
These were printed in Scion’s 3D printing laboratory, so volunteers involved with conservation projects had a training aid to practise how to successfully place a transmitter and band on a kiwi.
For many years, a static model of a kiwi has been used as a training prop.
Realistic movement achieved
Specifications and performance expectations for the prop were guided by hatchery staff.
Students Matthew Bloomfield, Joost van Gorp, Josiah Duffield and Samuel Schneider received engineering supervision from Scion scientist Karl Molving and Tim Giffney from the University of Canterbury.
Scion’s team led for additive manufacturing and emerging technologies, Rob Whitton said the students analysed the movement of kiwi and worked out how they could replicate that in the training aid.
“Guide wheels propel the kiwi model along the rail, and a spring gets wound up as you pull it back. The rail sits in the bush with leaves around it and after a remote control releases the catch, the kiwi runs forward, and its feet will pitter patter through the leaves as they would in real life.”
The prop had been designed so the rail was lightweight and could be split in two for easy transportation, Scion said.
The kiwi model, using a 3D-printed shell, was easily secured to the rail.
After final improvements and testing were completed and the training prop was formally adopted, it was hoped about 50 props would be produced for use by kiwi avoidance trainers around New Zealand.
Scion’s Karl Molving escorts Chopper through the bush to test his reaction to the moving kiwi model.
Doc’s Conservation Week plea for kiwi
Meanwhile, DoC is asking New Zealand to take action for nature for Conservation Week which started on August 14.
DoC’s conservation dogs programme manager Helen Neale said one of the best actions dog owners could take was to avoid areas where kiwi were present.
It was also important to keep dogs securely tied up at night when kiwi were active, she said.
“For those dog owners who live in areas where kiwi are present, enrolling their dogs in kiwi avoidance training is another tool to reduce the chance of dogs interacting with our precious kiwi.”
Dogs, especially hunting and farm dogs living or working in areas near kiwi, are encouraged to undergo regular training.
About 68,000 kiwi are in New Zealand, but that number declines by 2 per cent every year.
Despite the best conservation efforts, 1400 kiwi die annually and chicks remain incredibly vulnerable, with 95 per cent of all kiwi that hatch in the wild killed by predators before they reach adulthood.
The lives of adult kiwi are equally precarious, with uncontrolled dogs their biggest threat. Even brief canine interactions with kiwi can fatally damage their delicate chests and crush their organs.
Kiwi are a long-lived species and they can breed every year, often fledgling two to four chicks annually. Losing the breeders can have a devastating impact on the population.
Where there was evidence dogs killed kiwi, DoC can file charges under the Dog Control Act. The maximum penalty the court can impose is a $20,000 fine or up to three years in jail, and order for the dogs to be destroyed.
