Trained Dog Finds Untracked Kiwi Safe and Well
By Margaret Willard - May 2007
Rimutaka kiwi father Waikiwianui, who parted company with his
tracking transmitter two months ago, has been found with the help of a
trained kiwi tracking dog.
Waikiwianui’s transmitter was found on the ground soon after his egg was
taken from his burrow to be incubated and hatched at the Department of
Conservation Mt Bruce Wildlife Reserve. Without the transmitter attached
to his leg, an extensive ground search was needed to check his
wellbeing, and the best efforts of volunteers over two months proved
fruitless.
James Fraser and his dog Percy were called in to locate the missing
kiwi. Accompanied by three volunteers, Percy searched within 40m of his
handler, repeatedly criss-crossing an area near the home range of
Waikiwianu and his mate Manaia, and where he had dropped his transmitter
two months earlier.
The first day’s search was unsuccessful, but early on the second day of
searching, Percy’s sense of smell led James and the volunteers to
finding Waikiwianui roosting alone in a burrow under an old fallen
stump.
“We did a little dance and took some photos of James proudly holding the
kiwi,” says Susan Ellis.
After fitting him with a new transmitter, they decided to track
Waikiwianui’s mate Manaia. She was found sharing a burrow with younger
and smaller male Lorenzo.
“Maybe this was a secret tryst,” says Susan Ellis. “We hadn’t picked up
his signal, presumably because he was buried beneath the bulk of
Manaia.”
Finding the kiwi gave the volunteers the opportunity to learn the skills
of kiwi handling and weighing, and fitting transmitters on the birds.
“All are in good health, and it was a successful couple of days,” says
Susan Ellis.
Prepared for Rimutaka Forest Park Trust by Margaret Willard, phone
04 973 1378. For more information contact Susan Ellis, phone 04 971 5024
(home) or 04 570 4730 (work), Bill McCabe, phone 04 564 5029, or James
Fraser, email CHLOROTIS@xtra.co.nz
