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Reports of a dog killing a young kiwi in Schoolhouse Bay on Kawau Island are being investigated by the Department of Conservation.
The report surfaced on the Kawau Island Facebook page, but DoC operations manager Kat Lane says the case is still under investigation and it is still too early to say how the bird died.
“We aren’t sure of the exact age of the bird but it was an adult bird that seemed of a healthy weight,” she says.
“The bird has been sent for a necropsy, which should give us more accurate data on the birds age, sex and cause of death.”
The kiwi wasn’t banded and DoC currently has no accurate data on kiwi numbers on the island.
Lane says DoC receives periodic reports of deaths of protected wildlife.
She says when a member of the public finds a sick, injured or dead kiwi, or witnesses the deliberate killing of protected wildlife, they should call DOCHOT or email wildlifecrime@doc.govt.nz
“Also take a photo of the bird where you found it and, if possible, carefully put it in a bag and keep it in the fridge and advise DoC as soon as possible so it can be collected.
“Dead kiwi can still give us a lot of important information such as what killed it, to help save other kiwi.”
Lane says there is signage all over Kawau Island reminding people about the presence of kiwi on the island and the risk untrained dogs pose to wildlife.
DoC also organises kiwi aversion training sessions for island residents with dogs and rangers on the island regularly monitor for dogs on the reserves.
