Willowbank Wildlife Reserve - Kiwi Conservation Program by Tara
New Zealand is known for many distinctive qualities: its breathtaking mountain ranges and natural landscapes, its commitment to environmental sustainability, and its vast expanses of green pastureland. But arguably, its most famous attribute is the iconic kiwi bird.
Kiwis have become synonymous with New Zealand and its people, with New Zealanders often referred to as “Kiwis” themselves. However, kiwi birds have long suffered declining populations due to human activity and invasive mammal species such as stoats, cats, rats, and dogs which easily prey on these flightless, ground-nesting birds. There are many conservation programs across New Zealand to save this iconic species from extinction, with the most notable being Operation Nest Egg.
One of the largest contributors to Operation Nest Egg is Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, a wildlife park and nature reserve located in Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. Our group had the opportunity to spend the day at Willowbank, exploring exhibits and getting a guided tour of the New Zealand native species area. Among these were three of their kiwis, Lala, Taika, and Tohurā, who resided in the facility’s nocturnal house, an almost completely dark habitat that allows visitors to visit these nocturnal birds during daylight hours.
Luckily, our guide was Willowbank’s in-house kiwi rehabilitation expert, Beth, who explained not only the long, complicated history of New Zealand’s battle against invasives, but also about the work she and her team have done in terms of kiwi rehabilitation and education. My interest lies specifically in the rehabilitation and release of kiwi chicks into the wild since the causes of their decline are still very much a problem throughout the country. Beth explained that kiwis are unique in that they do not imprint at all, which is a type of innate learning in animals, especially in birds, immediately after hatching to recognize their caregiver for food and protection. Kiwis are born knowing for rehabilitators to handle and release them into the wild with no impact on their chances to survive to adulthood. She also explained that the birds are released onto remote, offshore islands when they are only a few weeks old, in environments with little to no human influence, invasive species, or habitat encroachment. They remain there until they reach around 1 kg, at which point they can withstand smaller predators like stoats and rats.
My other main point of interest in kiwis was their unique morphology and how it enabled them to fulfill their specific niche in New Zealand’s forested areas. Beth explained that kiwis, though flightless, have powerful legs for running swiftly across the forest floor and digging their burrows for nesting. Being nocturnal birds, kiwis have very poor eyesight, but exceptionally large ears for avian species which not only help them perceive their surroundings better but also allow them to hear the vibrations and sounds of insects and earthworms in the soil. They use their characteristically long beaks to sniff and feel out their little prey in soft soil and decaying wood. Beth also mentioned that kiwis' favorite treat is Huhu—large larvae of the huhu beetle, a member of the longhorn beetle family—which, apparently, taste like peanut butter, though I never really want to find out if that’s true or not.
Willowbank Wildlife Reserve has been one of our first stops here in New Zealand and I’m glad to have gone in our first week. It offered an amazing array of both the wildlife we might hope to see in our free time, but also the agricultural animals we’ll find on our class excursions to local farms. I’m glad to have had Beth as our guide. After spending a few days learning about agricultural topics both in and out of class, I felt right at home speaking with her about wildlife management practices and learning about how they go about conservation on this amazingly unique island nation.
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