Fetu Mama – a monitored kiwi in eastern Whangarei – has just proved that our Kiwi Corridor is working!
One of the key goals of Kiwi Coast is to restore the natural gene-flow of wild Northland kiwi by creating safe dispersal corridors between high density kiwi populations.
Fetu Mama on her release day with Todd Hamilton, March 2023
Her bill was also measured and found to be 105.3mm. At this stage we were not sure if she was a young female or older male. Adult male kiwi have shorter bills than females and is the main way that kiwi are determined to be male or female. In the meantime, we put a small radio transmitter on her leg to keep in touch with her in preparation for her eventual transfer to Parua Bay.
Her big day arrived on March 3, 2023 and she was transferred back to the mainland where the Northland Pacific Island Charitable Trust (Fale Pasifika) were given the honour of naming her by the Friends of Matakohe Limestone Island and Te Parawhau. That evening, she went on to star at the Backyard Kiwi release event at Parua Bay on with three of her fellow creche graduates.
As part of the release, she was remeasured and found to be 1800g in weight. Her bill had grown to 109.3mm, letting us know that she was still growing.
Fetu Mama with Kerry Martin, Aug 2023. Photo Todd Hamilton
Fetu Mama then spent the next five months exploring the Martins’ pine block at the start of Owhiwa Road – including up by the road itself then eastwards to a valley of pampas and young pines on the Taraunui Road side where we caught up with her in August. She was close to the female kiwi ‘Maia’ and the young male ‘Humphries’ who also have radio transmitters on.
Tracking Fetu Mama!
