Project Kiwi

1 November 2012

A new kiwi population is being established on Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Motutapu Restoration Trust.

The first five kiwi, recently released, were all supplied by the Project Kiwi Trust, which Boffa Miskell sponsors.

The five belong to the Coromandel North Island brown kiwi sub-species, which currently numbers around 1500. The Project Kiwi Trust protects about 600 at its sanctuary on the Kuoatunu Peninsula. In a collaborative effort, the plan is to establish a permanent population of all kiwi species and sub-species on the predator-free island, which is managed by DOC.

“For all those, like Project Kiwi, who are working to reverse the serious decline in kiwi numbers, the island population will help safeguard against possible mainland catastrophes and boost numbers through breeding,” says Dave Slaven, Boffa Miskell ecologist and Trust patron.