Cape Kidnappers release

3rd September 2008

JOE DAWSON

A small initial group of an eventual 60 kiwi to be released at Cape Kidnappers were sent on their way over the weekend - the first to roam the area for what is thought to be at least 150 years.

The Cape Kidnappers Wildlife Preserve, surrounded by a 9.6km fence, is now home to five kiwi - the culmination of years of work by conservators.

The release on Saturday was attended by 250 volunteers, iwi and preserve land owners, who gathered to watch the first kiwi being ushered into a manuka forested gully.

Wildlife preserve manager Tamsin Ward-Smith said the kiwi would be the first of many over the next few years, with a goal of up to 1500 birds living in the 2200ha preserve. That number would breed from the 60 to be released there over the next three years and could also provide larger kiwi that could be returned to the wild.

The kiwi, either sourced as eggs or young chicks, have come from the Maungataniwha Forest and the Kaweka and Ruahine Forest parks and have been raised in captivity until they reach an adult size.