Capital kiwi: Wellington's plan to bring our national bird back to the suburbs

Sunday, 11 November 2018

The Capital Kiwi project aims to see a wild kiwi population reintroduced across 23,000ha of land in Wellington.

Most New Zealanders are able to see kiwi at a zoo or in an enclosure – but what if our national bird was rummaging around in their backyards?

That could one day be a reality in Wellington where the Capital Kiwi initiative, which set its first trap on Monday, says it will reintroduce kiwi to 23,000 hectares of public and private land across the city.

About 4400 traps will be set to eradicate mustelids – stoats, ferrets and weasels – over the next three years, then the serious talk can start about bringing kiwi back to suburban Wellington.

A plan has been hatched to make about 23,000 hectares of public and private land in Wellington safe for kiwi to roam. (File photo)

'We face a pretty easy choice: stand back and watch the predators we've introduced wipe out our native taonga, or … do something about it,' project founder Paul Ward said.

Capital Kiwi's trapping plan will see 4,400 traps set over 23,000 hectares during the next three years.

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Paul Ward, from Capital Kiwi, at the Brooklyn wind turbine in Wellington where he hopes to one day see kiwi frolicking.

Twenty thousand hectares of land would be made stoat-free under a plan - promised by Wellington Mayor Justin Lester - to bring kiwi to the capital.

* $3.2m committed to help make Wellington predator free**

'Ultimately, the vision is to have locals and tourists encountering kiwi under the [Brooklyn] wind turbine, to have residents of Karori or Khandallah going to sleep at night and hearing wild kiwi calling … to go on night tours on the South Coast watching kiwi chase each other around like the Barrett brothers in their backyard.'

From church halls to woolsheds, Capital Kiwi has gathered the support of farmers, iwi and private landowners to help realise its dream.

The idea was born at a trapping session in 2016, Ward said.

'We were remarking on the turnaround in Wellington's native birdlife, from barely a tui to now [having] downtown kākā and kārearea,' he said.

Kiwi under a kilogram in weight are unable to effectively defend themselves from stoats. But once they're adults they can take on most challengers, except dogs. (File photo)

'The conversation turned to the possibility of kiwi. NZ conservation legend Paul 'Scratch' Jansen was there and said with a shrug, 'yeah, why not' in that classic knocked-off-Everest, split-the-atom kiwi way.'

Jansen said their plans led them to drawing up a desired safe zone for kiwi between the Miramar Peninsula in Wellington and Porirua Harbour north of the capital – about 23,000 hectares of public and private land.

Mustelids (stoats, ferrets, weasels) will be the target of an ambitious plan to lay 4400 traps across Wellington.

'The thing I am looking forward to is seeing a kiwi in our suburbs or in our streets, rummaging through someone's rubbish bin … and it will happen.

The Capital Kiwi initiative has some serious money behind it. In August, the Government-run Predator Free 2050 initiative committed $3.2 million to boost Predator Free Wellington and Capital Kiwi over five years.

The only kiwi seen on city streets in recent times has been these Waitangi Day revelers in London. But could the real thing be poised to make an appearance in Wellington's Courtenay Place?

'Having kiwi back here would just be bringing back another special part of New Zealand,' Jansen said.

Te Runanga o Ngati Maru chairman Holden Hohaia said iwi were excited about the project.

The Zealandia ecosanctuary in Wellington had already shown what was possible when it came to flourishing birdlife, but it would be more difficult to achieve in an urban environment, he said.

'Obviously, in some ways, we're swept up in the enthusiasm. It kind of goes without saying that it's a big deal.'

Predator Free Karori manager Jamie Fitzgerald said he wanted his great grandchildren to hear kiwi at night.

'I love the idea of inspiring a nation behind a great plan … when it comes to our identity, it's the kiwi, and it doesn't come any closer than that.'

Every night in New Zealand, about 68,000 native birds were eaten by introduced predators, he said.

Community-driven predator control has already delivered results in other parts of the country. The Remutaka Forest Park Trust reintroduced a dozen brown kiwi into a 1000ha area north of Wellington in 2006. Now there is a population of more than 130 kiwi there.

THE PROBLEM

* Kiwi under a kilogram in weight (i.e. less than six months of age) are unable to effectively defend themselves from stoats. But once they're adults they can take on most challengers, except dogs.

THE PLAN

* The first step is eradication of mustelids (stoats, ferrets, weasels). To eradicate stoats requires roughly one trap per five hectares.

* Eradication will be achieved via a mix of DOC and Goodnature self-resetting traps.

* Success will also require controlled dogs on private land, and dogs on leads in and around reserves where kiwi and pets intersect.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

* Get trapping in your own backyard.

* Volunteer at a local reserve.

* Be a data harvester. The A24 predator trap collects kill counts and location data.

* Sponsor a trap by getting in contact with Capital Kiwi to make a direct contribution.

* Follow Capital Kiwi Progress on Facebook and Instagram.

* Check out the plan at www.capitalkiwi.co.nz

* Sign up to volunteer at info@capitalkiwi.co.nz.