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The introduction of 40 little spotted kiwi to Shakespear Open Sanctuary has not been an unqualified success, with five of the adult birds now dead, as well as one of the chicks that hatched over summer.
Of the adult birds, two have been found dead at the foot of cliffs – the first was last year (HM August 16, 2017). Another was picked up with avian malaria, one died of pancreatic cancer and there has been one death from “unknown causes”.
The chick was found drowned in a pool on February 24. It was less than a month old.
Open sanctuaries senior ranger Matt Maitland says the 12.5 percent mortality rate for the adult, introduced birds is “on the high side”, although it is some comfort to know that no deaths can be attributed to predation. He says avian malaria is relatively common and is carried by populations of smaller birds. Stress can make birds more vulnerable to the disease and there are no vaccinations available. He says pancreatic cancer is not common in kiwi.
Matt says that the death of the only confirmed chick to be found so far at the sanctuary is an example of how vulnerable young kiwi are. “Kiwi are independent from their parents at a very young age and as such as susceptible to mishaps such as what happened here,” he says.
Twenty birds from Kapiti and Tiritiri Matangi Islands were released into the sanctuary at the end of Whangaparaoa Peninsula in April last year and a further 20 from Kapiti Island were released last March.
Matt says that there are typically no deaths as a result of moving birds to a new location – this includes capture, holding, transport and release – and that holds true for the Shakespear kiwi.
“Some of the birds have been on site for over a year and are considered established,” he says. “However it would be remiss to completely discount the stress of translocation as a factor in mortality. An example of this is our ‘cliff fall’ birds as geographic and social upheaval presumably play a large part in disorientation leading to the fall in unfamiliar terrain. However, the same risks apply to dispersing juveniles or others displaced by territorial squabbles. I will be seeking veterinary pathologist support to review all necropsy information to inform an overview of all fatalities to date.”
He says another factor is increased awareness – as all the kiwi released into the open sanctuary carry radio transmitters. “Other translocations would typically radio track a proportion of translocated animals and extrapolate from there,” he says.
Matt says despite the deaths, the population is on track to provide a self-sustaining presence of little spotted kiwi at Shakespear, “though it may need some short-term top up of extra birds and genetic material to ensure long-term fitness”.
