Tracking down Marohi the kiwi was literally like finding a kiwi in a haystack during his recent health check!
Marohi the kiwi has been busy exploring the Tutukaka Coast since his release at Tawapou in November 2016, giving the Tutukaka Landcare monitoring team quite a run around. However, his transmitter signals eventually led to the Tutukaka Quarry, where he was found in a haystack like structure of pine needles and pampas near the Tutukaka quarry on February 16th.
Nan Pullman, Sandra Bowden and Mike Camm from the Tutukaka Landcare Coalition (TLC) have been tracking all the transmittered kiwi since their releases.
Nan says “After his release, Marohi initially seemed to have settled on the eastern side of Matapouri Road but then shot across the road and disappeared into the coastal hinterland for over a month last summer. Mike picked up a faint signal again and we tracked him down to the quarry/pine area.For most of 2017 he has been settled into a territory high on the hills above Ngunguru moving closer to the forestry gate and then back across the hills into the pines.
As it’s been a year since his release, he was due for a health check and transmitter check so it was interesting to pick him up very close to where he was this time last year.”
Marohi’s transmitter was changed from his left leg to his right leg so that the skin underneath does not get too rubbed, and a new band was put on the transmitter to ensure it is secure, but not bothering him.
Approved Kiwi Handlers, Pete Graham from Northland Regional Council and Cam McInnes from TLC checked Marohi and found he was in good health, weighing in at 1.75kg. This is down slightly from his last weigh-in a year ago, when he was 1.8kg, but perhaps to be expected with all the exploring he has been doing!
Pukenui Western Hills Forest Trust Ranger, Bevan Cramp, was able to use the opportunity to complete some kiwi handling training ahead of the Pukenui Kiwi Release in March. Bevan gently released Marohi back into a similar pine needle-pampas ‘tent’ but Marohi had other ideas and decided to find his own daytime shelter, running back past those who had gathered to watch and off into the pines – free once more