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Busy kiwi translocation season

11 July 2023

Our kiwi season ended on the 1st of June and collectively we all sighed with relief after what has been our busiest kiwi season yet.

Led by Save The Kiwi, a total of 111 western brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) were translocated out of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari this season, an awesome feat for our first major year of kiwi transfers.

Sixty-one kiwi were transferred to Tongariro and fifty kiwi were transferred to Wellington for the Capital Kiwi project. Both releases were major affairs that you might have seen in the news, but what you didn’t see was the enormous mahi leading up to executing these transfers! Dozens of people were involved alongside our kiwi rangers - from kiwi conservation dog teams, to Sanctuary Mountain staff and volunteers, Save the Kiwi staff and contractors, and experienced kiwi practitioners from all over the North Island donating their time and effort to make this a success.

Thank you to everyone involved: you know who you are! Releases of Maungatautari-bred kiwi will continue on an annual basis now that we have a thriving kiwi population.