Hear the call of the Whakatane Kiwi

Whakarongo mai ra ki te tangi o te kiwi o Whakatane


Kiwi hold a special place in the Hearts of New Zealanders. Help them to thrive and prosper.

In the Whakatane District, kiwi are literally in our backyard. We have the unique opportunity to be able to walk off the pavement into the bush and be in kiwi territory. Without active management to support breeding and minimise predators, kiwi will eventually disappear from the Whakatane Distict. Whakatane Kiwi need your help.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Welcome to the Whakatane Kiwi Trusts new blog

This is the new blog for the Whakatane Kiwi Trust.  We hope to be able keep you up to date with the happenings of our kiwi - but to start here is a bit of background about the project.

The Whakatane Kiwi Project

In 1999 a few North Island brown kiwi were discovered in Ohope Scenic Reserve, southeast of Whakatane and south of Ohope. Miraculously, adult kiwi had survived in the reserve without any predator control.

The discovery initiated the Whakatane Kiwi Project, a partnership between Environment Bay of Plenty and Department of Conservation, in conjunction with Te Runanga o Ngati Awa.

Te Runanga o Ngati Awa are joint managers of Moutohora and Ohope Scenic Reserve and also hold statutory acknowledgement rights over Kohi Point and Mokorua Scenic Reserves.

Since then, targeted predator control and Operation Nest EggTM have gone a long way to achieving a self-sustaining kiwi population in Ohope Scenic Reserve and Moutohora (Whale Island) and expansion of management into other areas. There are now more than 100 kiwi under management in the Whakatane area.

Whakatane Kiwi Project Goals

By 2015, the Whakatane Kiwi Project aims to have:

•At least 200 kiwi that have originated from or are managed under the Whakatane Kiwi Project

•At least 120 kiwi, including 20 breeding pairs, in the core area – double the numbers from 2010 target

•Increased the number of kiwi in the privately-owned land areas and at least four sub-populations in the expansion area

•More then 75 percent of the project’s budget coming from investments, external funders, sponsors and donations through the Whakatane Kiwi Trust.

•The project is to become more community based, with community representatives taking on leadership roles. This is also a responsibility of the Whakatane Kiwi Trust.

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