An iwi is “devastated” after a monitored North Island brown kiwi was recently found dead, likely from a dog attack.
Department of Conservation (DOC) rangers were tracking three tagged male kiwis when they discovered ‘Geyser’ dead in Rangataua Forest, southwest of Mount Ruapehu, last week.
In the wake of the news, Ngāti Rangi and DOC are calling for hunters and dog owners to comply with their dog permits.
“Ngāti Rangi sees kiwi as a taonga species — the iwi has strong cultural, spiritual and historic associations with kiwi,” Helen Leahy, Pou Ārahi of Ngā Waihua o Paerangi, said.
She said just one kiwi death can have a devastating impact on the species’ recovery.
“Brown kiwi can live for around 40 years, and the early death of a breeding adult male means the loss of generations of taonga.”
Geyser was released in 2015 and had been monitored since. The rangers found the other two monitored kiwi safe, almost ready to fledge their chicks.
Visitors to Rangataua Forest can bring up to two dogs with a permit from DOC, however they must be certified as kiwi avoidance trained to enter.
DOC supervisor Danial Van der Lubbe urged owners to respect the rules to protect native species and educate both themselves and their dogs.
“Not only is it a requirement for Rangataua, but it’s also a vitally important tool for all New Zealanders to help reduce the threat hunting and farming dogs pose to kiwi in the wild.”
Leahy said protection of all fragile native species is a collective priority — the predominantly beech forest is also home to a large population of short-tailed bats and other native species such as kākā and kārearea.
“We’re looking to introduce more kiwi into the area in the future, so it’s imperative that we protect these taonga.”
Roaming dogs on conservation land should be reported to the 24-hour DOC emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468). This includes if dogs owned by members of the public become lost.
The Dog Control Act 1996 enables the destruction of any dog found to have injured or killed any protected wildlife, including kiwi, and the owner to be fined $20,000, and/or three years in jail.