An intruder broke into the Rosvall Sawmill on April 29th, sparking an urgent call out!
Thankfully, the intruder was of the two-legged feathered variety and caused more excitement than concern. Workers arriving at the Rosvall Sawmill Monday morning discovered a curious kiwi who had found its way inside. A call for help saw a crew of accredited kiwi handlers from the Department of Conservation, Kiwi Coast and Northland Regional Council arrive quickly to rescue the kiwi and get it to safety.
A health check-up revealed the adventurer was female, approximately five years old, with a healthy weight of 2.1kg and a long bill of 125mm. Named “Rosvall” she was then released into the safety of Mt Tiger, an area with strong predator control and dedicated dog control close to the sawmill.
Here she’ll be safe to roam and continue her adventures thanks to the ongoing work of the Whareora Landcare Group. This community-led project has been working hard since 2009 to help their small local kiwi population flourish, and with good support from Kiwi Coast, DOC and Northland Regional Council, have trapped close to 25,000 animal pests since 2009.
As they are also part of the 10,000ha Kiwi Link predator control network, Rosvall will be safe to roam and continue her adventures if she decides to do so!
The local community were thrilled to learn that an additional wild-born female kiwi had been found in their area. She is considered to be “wild-born’ as the health check did not reveal a micro ID chip, that all released kiwi are fitted with to enable future identification. This means that kiwi are breeding and hatching chicks successfully somewhere nearby. Without predator control, stoats kill 95% of kiwi chicks in their first year, so the hard work of Whareora Landcare and neighbouring projects is clearly paying off.
What attracted the kiwi to the sawmill is unknown, but thanks to the swift action of everyone involved, she is now back where she belongs.
This heartwarming story is a testament to the strength of the Whangarei kiwi population and the huge efforts by communities, hapū and organisations to help them flourish.
Remember, if you ever spot a kiwi in a place it shouldn’t be, don’t hesitate to call 08000 DOC HOT.
