Following our success with whio we have been given the green light by the Kiwi Recovery Group, DOC and local Iwi to re-establish Great Spotted Kiwi (roroa) in the Flora.

The plan is to translocate 7 pair of kiwi in early 2010 from established populations in the Boulder Lake region of Kahurangi National Park (see the February 2009 Newsletter for the full story).

The kiwi will be fitted with transceivers and closely monitored over the following 2-3 years. Thanks to our extensive trapping program, we believe the stoat numbers are at very low levels (less than 0.5% activity in the tracking tunnels) so any kiwi chicks should have a good chance of survival.

To fund this project we need $24,000 by 1^st December this year and then up to $72,000 over the following 2 years. This is to cover the cost of locating the kiwi with specially trained dogs, relocation by helicopter to the Flora Stream area, radio transmitters and ongoing tracking and checking of their movements. Most of this will work be done by dedicated FoF volunteers under the supervision of DOC staff.

Maryann Ewers
FoF committee chairman