A member of the Kiwi Capital Project team replaces the transmitter of a male kiwi, Adarangi, before releasing the bird back into the wild at Terawiti Station, Tawa Hill, Wellington.
Photo: AFP – Marty Melville
Anyone who set foot on New Zealand soil a thousand years ago would have discovered a reality Ornithological paradise Full of all kinds of feathered creatures that evolved without shade A predatory mammal.
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But the arrival of the Polynesians in the 13th century and later the Europeans changed the situation. Rats removed petrels and rails. Mice gobbled up all the seeds and berries, leaving little for the birds to peck at.
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The opossums, introduced by their fur, cleared the trees. The Rabbits They reproduced so rapidly that they devoured meadows and pastures. And imported stoats to kill rabbits reduced the numbers of cave birds, thrushes, owls and quail.
This reduced the number of endemic flightless birds in New Zealand Kakabo And this Kiwi. Only about 70,000 wild kiwis remain, according to the Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for protecting the country’s natural and historical heritage.
Although the opterygiform is a true symbol of the country, few New Zealanders have seen the bird in the wild, with its long beak, brown plumage and small flightless wings.
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But thanks to more than 90 nationwide initiatives created to protect it, its population is growing again. Among them is Capital Kiwi ProjectA charity with millions of New Zealand dollars coming from government grants and private donations.
In New Zealand, “we have a special bond with Kiwis,” the project’s founder and manager explains to AFP. Paul Ward. Kiwis are “at the heart of Maori mythology.” It says “We’re called Kiwis, whether it’s our sports teams, rugby, defense or going overseas. They are strong, tough, adaptable, all values associated with New Zealanders. But most of us have never seen a kiwi”.
According to Paul Ward, wild kiwis disappeared from the Wellington region about a century ago. So, they worked steadily to save them, first attacking their natural predators. Then they taught the local dogs to stay away from them.
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The group has also declared war on stoats because while adult kiwis can fend them off with their strong legs and sharp claws, a hatchling cannot, Ward explains.
They set more than 4,500 traps in an area about 43,000 football fields in the hills around Wellington and captured 1,000 stoats.
“After removing the stoats”, explains Ward, the number of these predators was reduced enough to allow the release of the first group of kiwis in November 2022, which were carefully transported over 500 kilometers from a hatchery. School in Wellington.
A hush fell over the crowd as the first bird was released in front of 400 people who had never seen kiwis before, says Paul Ward.
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Regular monitoring shows that this first generation performs well. Ward explains that they have gained weight after two months in freedom, “and they have plenty of food in these mountains.”
Over the next five years, the project aims to release 250 birds and introduce their characteristic cries into the daily lives of residents of the capital’s suburbs. “It is our duty to care for the animal that named us“, assumes. Otherwise “we deserve to be renamed idiots.”
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