File Reference: DOC-5897158 / OIA-19-E-0175-Percy
04 April 2019
Bridget Percy
[FYI request #9597 email]
Tena koe Bridget
Kiwi deaths at Pukaha
Thank you for your Official Information Act request to the Department of Conservation, dated
15 February 2019.
Your questions and our responses are listed below:
1. How many kiwi have died at Pukaha each year since 2003?
It is only possible to provide this information for monitored kiwi.
YEAR Kiwi
CAUSE OF DEATH
2018
1
Predation
2016
4
Predation
2015
9
Predation
2014
1
Predation
1
Blunt trauma
2013
1
Coccidia
1
Blunt trauma
2012
3
Predation
1
Emaciation
1
Egg complications
2
Too decayed to determine
2011
3
Predation
1
Drowned
1
Blunt trauma
1
Too decayed to determine
2010
12
Predation
2008
5
Predation
2006
1
Predation
2004
1
Predation
TOTAL
50
The spikes in predation in 2008, 2010 and 2015 were caused by mustelid activity in Pukaha
Forest. The 943ha forest is surrounded by farmland, which is good habitat for mustelids,
particularly ferrets. Ferrets will move into the forest to hunt if there is a lack of food in the
surrounding farmland. The dead-birds recovered in 2010 and 2015 had injuries to the neck
and head that were consistent with an attack by a ferret.
…/2
Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai
Lower North Island Regional Office
Private Bag 11010, Palmerston North 4442
www.doc.govt.nz
- 2 -
As mentioned in previous correspondence, trapping activity has been strengthened in
response to the threat by mustelids. Periodic aerial 1080 operations targeting rats also
provides respite for kiwi from mustelids, as mustelids preying on carcasses of poisoned rats
suffer secondary poisoning and die as a result. No kiwi have been recorded as dying from
1080 poisoning in Pukaha Forest.
2. In June 2018 Head Kiwi Ranger at Pukaha Mt Bruce Jess Flamy stated in an email that
there were 13 monitored kiwi in the Pukaha Forest and that three unmonitored kiwi were
found in the kiwi call count or by the kiwi dog Rua.
However, in your response to my OIA you stated that there are seven monitored kiwi and
20 unmonitored kiwi currently in the Pukaha Forest.
a. Please respond to my question in my previous OIA - have six monitored kiwi died since
June 2018 or have they lost their tags?
There are transmitters on kiwi for two reasons. We have transmitters on some male kiwi,
as the males incubate the eggs, and staff remove the eggs from some kiwi to incubate and
hatch in the kiwi house nursery. This removes the risk of the eggs being predated in the
nest, and the chicks are released when they can fend for themselves. Staff put
transmitters on these chicks before they are released so they can check on their progress
in the forest. Staff periodically use the transmitters to locate the chicks and if they are
losing weight, the chicks are taken back into captivity for further rearing.
In regard to the six kiwi in your question, staff removed transmitters from three female
Operation Nest Egg kiwi once they reached their goal weight. Females do not incubate
the egg, so do not need to be monitored to locate eggs for the Operation Nest Egg project.
One female was predated, and two male birds lost their transmitters.
b. Please explain the discrepancy between Head Kiwi Ranger Jess Flamy’s figure of three
unmonitored kiwi and the 20 unmonitored kiwi indicated in your OIA response.
A call count conducted in 2018 estimated there to be approximately 20 kiwi. The
Department understands that the email sent to you by Pukaha employee Ms Jess Flamy,
was sent prior to the kiwi call count occurring.
3. If your figures are correct and there are 27 kiwi in the Pukaha forest and 10 kiwi inside
and given that 105 kiwi have been hatched at Pukaha and 43 kiwi have been brought in to
the centre from other places since 2003 please confirm that a total of 148 kiwi have been
hatched or brought into Pukaha and there are approximately 36 kiwi left - meaning that at
least 111 kiwi have died there.
As stated in our OIA response dated 18 January 2019, the kiwi call count is not intended as a
comprehensive kiwi census. It is intended to establish a general sense of population
movement and location of kiwi territories.
The department can only confirm the number of deaths that have been recorded in the table
provided above.
…/3
- 3 -
4.
In your response to my last OIA you indicated that a kaka had died from eating bait from a
bait station in 2017. Please explain what would stop kaka at Pukaha Mt Bruce from eating
1080 baits which were aerially dropped over the Pukaha Forest in 2014, 2015, 2016 and
2018Our OIA response of 18 January 2019 stated that a kaka was found to have died after
interfering with a trap. It did not eat bait from a bait station.
In planning for the aerial application of 1080 we were cognisant of the significant kaka
population. We were also aware that no monitored kaka have been lost during aerial 1080
baiting and that there is a growing pool of evidence demonstrating the benefit of this style of
pest control to adult kaka survival and to the recruitment of juvenile kaka into the
population.
5. In October 2018 Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage requested that DOC investigate a
private kiwi programme in Hawke’s Bay on why nine little spotted kiwi had died there.
a. Why has there been no investigation requested by Ms Sage for a similar investigation
into Pukaha Mt Bruce where over a hundred kiwi have died?
The Minister of Conservation did not direct the Department to undertake an
investigation of kiwi deaths at Cape Sanctuary in Hawkes Bay.
The situation at Cape Sanctuary was already under investigation by the Department. The
Minister requested a report from the Department on the outcome of that investigation
and subsequent steps that have been put in place with the sanctuary operator to ensure
that the situation which resulted in these particular deaths would be better managed in
future.
The need for an investigation at Pukaha Forest has not been identified. The table above
shows that 50 kiwi are known to have died in Pukaha Forest over a 15 year period. The
reality is that kiwi are predated somewhere in New Zealand every night, and populations
of kiwi across the country continue to struggle. Given the threats kiwi face across
mainland New Zealand it is important to try and establish populations in areas with
predator control such as Pukaha Forest, where they might have a more certain future.
The learnings from set-backs and successes at Pukaha will be used to benefit other kiwi
populations across the country.
b. Who would undertake such an investigation given that Pukaha is a DOC facility?
The forest restoration project is run by the Pukaha Mount Bruce Board on behalf of the
Wairarapa and Tararua communities. The Department is responsible for the welfare of
kiwi as described in The Wildlife Act. Part of the Department’s responsibility would be to
instigate and carry out such an investigation if required.
c. With only seven monitored kiwi and two kiwi breeding in the Pukaha Forest what will
it take for DOC to stop the release of kiwi into this predator-prone area where so many
kiwi have died?
As mentioned above, not all kiwi are monitored in Pukaha Forest, so we cannot know the
exact number of kiwi in the forest. Call counts tell staff where kiwi are present, but not
how many individuals.
.../4
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At present we do not consider it necessary to halt the hatching and release programme
for kiwi at this site. Learning how to protect kiwi in this type of habitat with financially
sustainable techniques is critical for potential reintroduction or protection of remnant
populations in this sort of area.
If you wish to discuss this with the department, please contact Wairarapa Operations Manager
Kathy Houkamau on 027 839 4626 or by emai
l [email address].
Naku noa, na
Reg Kemper
Director Operations, Lower North Island
0272 4856 860 |
[email address]
