My Account
Norma Jean skipper Piers Barney, who was born on Motuora, with Michelle Whybrow from Auckland Zoo.
A three-week-old kiwi was released on Motuora Island this month, helping restock the thriving population at the predator-free sanctuary.
Warkworth DOC partnerships ranger Michelle Jenkinson says over 100 North Island brown kiwi are on the 80-hectare island, which is used as a creche for young kiwi.
“It goes to show what happens when they are left to their own devices without predators,” Michelle says.
The kiwi are taken as eggs from burrows in the bush near Whangarei and are incubated at Auckland Zoo.
Before chicks hatch they absorb the egg yolk and for the first few weeks don’t require any extra food. To help the chicks regain weight, Auckland Zoo staff feed them a special diet. When they reach their birth weight again after about three weeks they are released on Motuora. At this age they can fend for themselves and instinctively know how to probe for insects.
“In the wild 95 per cent don’t survive their first year, so having predator-free islands is a huge asset.”
When they reach 1kg they can defend themselves against most predators, except dogs, and are used to restock other sites.
About 20 kiwi were taken from the island over the last year. In the past, kiwi from the island have gone to Tawharanui and Mataia Homestead on the Kaipara Harbour.
The island birds breed earlier than mainland kiwi and around 40 per cent of birds taken from the island are Motuora natives.
Three kiwi chicks are being released this season on Motuora during Save the Kiwi Month.
