One giant leap for kiwi pukupuku

On 20 May, 15 kiwi pukupuku/little spotted kiwi from Zealandia were moved to Cape Sanctuary in Hawke’s Bay in a historic first. This was the first time we have translocated kiwi out of the sanctuary, marking a major milestone for our community.

The translocation was made possible through partnerships between a number of iwi: Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Mihiroa (hapū of Ngāti Kahungunu), as well as Cape Sanctuary, Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, and the Department of Conservation.

Did you know there are five different species of kiwi? Kiwi pukupuku are the smallest kiwi species and are therefore very vulnerable beyond the fence. Kiwi pukupuku are more at risk of predation than the larger kiwi-nui/North Island brown kiwi, who are showing up in Wellingtonians’ backyards thanks to the work of our community and Capital Kiwi.

We’ve been privileged for decades to provide a home for kiwi pukupuku following their arrival from Kāpiti Island in 2000 and 2001. These taonga have grown in numbers within the safety of our fence and inspired hundreds of visitors to care about this incredible rare species.

We are now in the position to give back and further help kiwi pukupuku at the national level by helping bolster other kiwi pukupuku populations around the country in partnership with iwi.

While Cape Sanctuary already has a kiwi pukupuku population, the Kiwi Recovery Group has advised that increasing their founder population by introducing more birds is a strategic priority for the population’s long-term health and viability.

By 1912, the population was down to just five kiwi pukupuku, who were moved to Kāpiti Island to save the species. While these birds have bounced back in numbers, any species that dwindle to such low numbers are at increased risk due to the genetic bottleneck they went through.

Within a population,n there is typically a large amount of genetic variation between individuals. However, when a population gets reduced down to a very small number, either through being physically isolated (e.g., being moved to an island) or through predation and habitat loss, this pool of genes becomes smaller, and some genes may get lost entirely.

This reduced genetic diversity means all individuals carry similar genes, which can result in the whole population being more vulnerable to environmental pressures like disease and climate change.

The conservation sector works to deal with this risk by having management groups and plans for specific species. For example, takahē who have bounced back from presumed extinction are managed, and pairs are carefully selected and moved around the motu/country to make sure that every breeding pair have the best chance of producing healthy chicks. Takahē rangers make sure that birds from the same family aren't paired together to reduce inbreeding.

The kiwi pukupuku from Zealandia who have made Cape Sanctuary their new home, will help in a similar way and increase the number of unrelated birds in the Cape Sanctuary population. For your chance to see kiwi pukupuku living wild at Zealandia, book a Zealandia by Night tour.

Photo by Linton Miller