I have seen kiwi in wildlife parks and zoos on many occasions, but only twice in the wild: once on Kapiti Island and again on Stewart Island. I think it sad that the bird which most often identifies New Zealand and New Zealanders is so rarely seen in its native habitat.
Sure, they are nocturnal animals which means they will be difficult to find, but a major pest – the possum – is also nocturnal and most us will have seen them many times. The problem with kiwi is that there are so few of them; yet that is something we can alter, if we have the will to do so.
When I was young, tui were birds that you saw mostly in the bush. Now they are commonly seen in cities, even in the most built-up parts. This change was achieved by planting trees for the tui, along with creating conservation areas that made it easier for birds to move from one place to another. In Wellington much the same has been achieved with our native parrot the kaka. I believe that if we set our mind to it, we can achieve similar changes for kiwi. The first step would be to better control the introduced pests that prey on all of our native birds
In July 2016 the New Zealand Government announced a goal of making the country predator-free by 2050. The main targets would be rats, possums and stoats. These mammals kill 25 million of our native birds every year, as well as millions of other native species such as lizards, snails and insects.
Also targeted would be feral cats which kill around 100 million birds a year, although not all of these are natives.
There are four goals for 2025:
• Having 1 million hectares of land where pests are suppressed or removed;
• The development of a scientific breakthrough, capable of removing entirely one small mammalian predator;
• To be able to demonstrate that areas of 20,000 hectares can be predator free without the use of fences;
• And the complete removal of all introduced predators from offshore island nature reserves.
For more information visit:
predatorfreenz.org