Little spotted kiwi, also known as kiwi pukupuku, will be released in the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary in May. Photo: Supplied: Zealandia
Twenty years after the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary was established in Nelson, it's set to become home to a species of kiwi that had long been considered functionally extinct in the South Island.
Approximately 40 little spotted kiwi, or kiwi pukupuku, are being translocated into the sanctuary from Kapiti Island in early May.
Sanctuary ecologist Robert Schadewinkel said the vision of the original founders, including the late environmentalist Dr Dave Butler, to see the return of kiwi to Nelson had been made possible due to the thousands of hours of volunteers and staff.
Brook Waimārama Sanctuary ecologist Robert Schadewinkel. Photo: Supplied
"They had this vision 20 years ago to build the fence and then have kiwi reintroduced and to see it finally going to happen is significant, for all those people who have been here for so long and working towards it."
The project is a partnership between the sanctuary and Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, Te Tauihu iwi, Save the Kiwi, and the Department of Conservation.
About 100 years ago, the last free-roaming little spotted kiwi were found on the South Island and subsequently, five individuals were translocated to Kapiti Island.
The Brook Waimārama Sanctuary is the largest fenced wildlife sanctuary in the South Island at almost 700 hectares. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee
"All the kiwi that we have got now are the descendants of those five kiwi that were saved and then brought to Kapiti Island, so to see them returning to the South Island now is quite a milestone as there are no other populations on the mainland."
A team returned earlier in the week from a trip to Kapiti Island where they found, caught and attached radio transmitters to 24 kiwi at the northern end of the island. Another team would be sent out next week to look for another 16 birds, ahead of the translocation in a month's time.
It is not the first bird translocation for the sanctuary. Starting in 2021, orange-fronted parakeet, kākāriki karaka, have been released on five occasions with the population of the rare forest birds now thought to be the largest in the country.
After a 100-year absence from the region, a 2023 nationwide status report on kākāriki karaka noted that the sanctuary population is "tracking well". Photo: Sean McGrath
Earlier in 2021, forty tīeke or South Island saddleback were translocated from Motuara Island in the Marlborough Sounds but despite promising signs and sightings of young fledglings, a population had not established with the birds thought to have left the sanctuary area.
It also comes after dozens of tuatara were released into the sanctuary last year.
Schadewinkel said kiwi were the perfect bird for translocation into a fenced sanctuary, because they were flightless.
The Brook Waimārama Sanctuary Trust was established in 2004, with 690 hectares of mature beech forest enclosed by a pest proof fence in 2016. Photo: Alison Ballance
"That's the beauty with kiwi, they are quite tough, robust little things and when we release them into a predator-free area that is fenced really there's very little that can go wrong.
"Predation is their number one threat, they are hyper vulnerable to predation from dogs, stoats, weasels and cats, anything, so being into being released into a completely predator-free environment, we can only expect them to thrive."
He was hopeful that those living close to the sanctuary would soon be able to hear the kiwi calling at night, and in time there were plans to do night tours so people had a chance to see them.
The Brook Valley was once home to the water supply catchment for Nelson and is now the site of the largest fenced sanctuary in the South Island. Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal
A "momentous" occasion
Matt Hippolite from Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira said the iwi is proud of the role Kapiti Island played in bringing the taonga species back from the brink of extinction.
"For Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, it has been an honour to be the kaitiaki of these manu, as their population recovers to a point to start returning them to their whenua."
Turi Hippolite from Ngāti Koata said welcoming little spotted kiwi back to the South Island would be a momentous occasion.
"Te Waipounamu is the traditional home for kiwi pukupuku so being the first region to welcome them back to their whenua in almost a century is a privilege."
The little spotted kiwi have been bred on Kapiti Island and will be translocated to Nelson across several days. Photo: Andrew Digby / DOC
Save the Kiwi chief executive Michelle Impey said little spotted kiwi were thought to be gone from most parts of the South Island by the 1930s, so it was a significant conservation milestone to have them return to the Nelson area.
Nelson mayor Nick Smith said the upcoming translocation was a momentous conservation achievement.
"Kiwi have not lived in Nelson for around 100 years due to predators such as stoats and this reintroduction is a tribute to the visionaries, volunteers and sponsors who have worked so hard over 20 years to create this sanctuary with its predator-proof fence.
"I cannot wait to hear the call of the kiwi in our own backyard. It will also be a boost for Nelson's visitor industry to have kiwi so close to the city and in a natural setting."
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