Kiwi
Stoat trapping is in place, and being checked and cleared by an increasing number of volunteers including school groups. There are plans to expand the trap network.
The North Island brown kiwi is one of the several key endangered species at Parininihi. There remains a viable population of kiwi and numbers are on the increase. The trapping goes a long way towards achieving this.
Conrad with Kiwi
Uncontrolled dogs are one of the biggest threats to the kiwi here, although hunting permits have been issued to hunters to control pig and goat numbers as necessary. No Dogs are allowed in the area with the exception of permitted hunters dogs with the appropriate certificated kiwi aversion training.
The Trust has joined forces with the people from the Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust in south Taranaki and the Taranaki Kiwi Trust to ensure the survival of Taranaki Kiwi. Rotokare is part of an exciting Kiwi project called Taranaki Kohanga Kiwi at Rotokare. A kohanga is a nursery and breading site, in this case a protected area, in which Kiwi can bread in abundance without the threat of pests.
A transmitter has been placed on a male kiwi at Parininihi and the next step will be to lift the egg, which will then be incubated at Rotorua to be released at Rotokare when it is large enough. The chick will then be raised until it can survive on its own in the wild, when it will be re-released into the forests of Taranaki. This project ensures that the genetic diversity of Taranaki Kiwi is protected.
