Kiwi, fences, and forest futures | Welcome to the walled wild
Andrew
Tēnā koutou. Ko Andrew tōku ingoa. Nau mai haere mai. Welcome to the field trip here at Sanctuary Mountain, at Maungatautari.
And this is Dan, operations manager here at the sanctuary. And Dan, just walking down here for the first time from the carpark, we stopped and I could hear and see some awesome birds. The tīeke, saddleback, already, and we're not even in the sanctuary. But this is an amazing place. Tell us a bit about Sanctuary Mountain.
Dan
Kia ora. Welcome. Yeah. So Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari: 3400 hectares of native bush here in the central Waikato. Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is unique in that it's a pest-free space where there's no introduced mammals at all. And that's part of what makes the mountain so special. And the whole mountain is surrounded by 47 kilometres of our pest-proof fence, which is absolutely essential in keeping the mountain pest free. The stainless steel mesh here is of a gauge that prevents all mammal species from being able to enter through the mesh, right down to the tiniest baby mouse is prevented from being able to fit through the gauge of this fence. It has this wonderful hood on the top, and this prevents things like cats and possums, things that can jump or climb really well from climbing up and over the fence. And then it also has a mesh screen that goes down into the ground and around about 300mls, about 30cm, the size of your school ruler, which prevents things like rabbits digging under the fence and getting in. So it's a barrier.
Andrew
Brilliant. And there’s people coming and going here, you've got lots of visitors. And just down the way there, you have a fantastic education centre and schools can come here too.
Dan
Yeah. That's right. So a big part of what we do here at Maungatautari is about educating the public, informing the public and educating our future kaitiaki of spaces like this. So annually, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari has around about 20,000 people come through our visitor centre here. And around about 4000 of those are students. Yeah. And it's such a great opportunity to inspire those youngsters and inform them on the important work that's been done here. Yeah.
Andrew
And one lot of important work that's been done is your kiwi translocation project, which we're going to learn a lot more about. But just give us a brief overview of what we can anticipate seeing along the way of our field trip.
Dan
Yeah, yeah, ka pai. So, Maungatautari has had kiwi translocated here to Maungatautari since 2005. So four founder kiwi were brought here to Maungatautari in 2005 from Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro. Since then, around about another 70 kiwi were translocated here. And then the Save the Kiwi team came along; and working in partnership with Maungatautari and local iwi and local government, developed the Kōhanga project, where around about a further 330 kiwi were brought here to Maungatautari to establish a really robust population that's really genetically diverse. So meaning that we had a really healthy population here at Maungatautari. And the point of that is, the children of that founder population will be translocated again from Maungatautari to other sites around the North Island.
Andrew
That's so cool. So you're growing them here and shifting them elsewhere.
Dan
That's right.
Andrew
To boost populations in other areas. Well, it's a great kaupapa. Thanks for having us here. So looking forward to exploring this beautiful ngahere and seeing and hearing those bird species, and getting a closer look and a further insight into that Kōhanga Kiwi programme, the kaupapa here at Maungatautari, Sanctuary Mountain. Thanks, Dan.
Dan
Kia ora, welcome.
Carving a legacy, restoring a taonga
Andrew
Kia ora tātou. Ko Bodie tēnei.
Bodie
Kia ora.
Andrew
Bodie is the cultural advisor here at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. And we're outside the visitors centre having a kōrero here. And, but I'd like to draw your attention to this carving that Bodie is working on. It’s a work in progress. But when we talk about kiwi, this... and kiwi and the relationships that you build and maintain – that idea of tono, which we will touch on in a moment. This is quite significant for a number of different areas. You want to just talk us through this really beautiful carving, Bodie?
Bodie
Absolutely. Well, first off, any carving tells a story, whether it be an ancestral story or pūrākau or narrative from the particular area in which it resides.
This is about kiwi, and the first kiwi that were gifted here back in 2005. We've got three community groups and iwi groups that we recognise at that time, who gifted a lot of our founding kiwi. And so we’re talking about Tongariro Ngāti Hikairo. We're talking about Waimarino, just past Raetihi. And also we’re talking about Taranaki, Rotokare, specifically that community, that gave us our first kiwi. Around 250 altogether; and over time, 400 founding Kiwi. The donation of kiwi at that time was great because we have 3000 kiwi after 20 years.
Andrew
That's amazing.
Bodie
Yeah, man. And also some of the mnemonics and symbols on here, they are particular to this particular place, which we call Maungatautari of course.
So we've got the swirling water element, that enables us to recognise that streams on the mountain are very important for our kiwi. In the dry season, like summer, we have to always be aware that our kiwi are going to need wai.
We also have the fern or raupunga here, done in more of a contemporary form. And this basically was all about understanding that kiwi are lowland dwellers. And of course, the story of the kiwi from our pūrākau talks about the kiwi actually sacrificing their colour, sacrificing their wings, so that they could partake in keeping the ngāngara, insects, away from taking over the forest. And so that was a request from the atua, Tāne.
Andrew
Yeah. Because they used to fly.
Bodie
They used to fly. The source of the story. This is the story that was told through our ancestors. They used to actually fly. They had wings, but no more.
Andrew
Well, just little wings. Tiny little wings.
Bodie
They do. And plus, coming out during the daytime, that was something that was big too. But now they're in the night. So they’re nocturnal birds.
Andrew
So you mentioned Bodie within this carving, there’s reference to those iwi who provided those founding birds. And you've also talked to me about that idea of tono, which is a really important part of those relationships. Talk us through a bit about that.
Bodie
Well tono is quite old, it’s not new. We've used it since time immemorial from my understanding; hundreds and hundreds of years of using tono for different things. For example, to tono for resources, even to tono for marriage. So there’s that sort of use of tono now that we use in contemporary times to actually ask for a species, taonga species. Here in Maungatautari 30 years ago, we were depleted of all our taonga species. So we went out and we asked other community groups and iwi if we could tono for kiwi. So tono is an asking.
Andrew
And those relationships then become really important to sustain. But, and then the Kōhanga Kiwi kaupapa.
Bodie
Yep.
Andrew
That's the name you give to that idea of taking birds and then giving them back?
Bodie
It's more the way that we are making more kiwi come to... in numbers basically; making it numerous.
So the kōhanga is all about a nest. So we're talking about looking after and taking care of. And then once they get to an age, like any other bird who gets to a particular age after being in the nest for a while, they try to take flight and leave. And so we are also that as well. We wait till they get to a certain age, and then we go in with our dogs. We then capture our kiwi nicely. Then we health check them and then we send them on their way to other ecosystems. For example, Taranaki in just the recent times; Wellington in recent times. And of course, Tongariro.
So that's both about saying thank you to those places who gave us our first kiwi, and then also recognising that we have other places that are ready to take on kiwi. And these places are really about awesome management of kiwi, in their spaces. So that's trapping. It's making sure the trapping is right. Making sure all the tracks and, yeah, all those sorts of things are good and dandy, you know.
Andrew
Well, kia ora Bodie. And really looking forward, you mentioned the kiwi dog finding kiwi and the health checks. I'm looking forward to checking those out later on in the field trip.
Bodie
Kia ora.
Andrew
Thank you very much.
Bodie
Ngā mihi, e hoa.
Tia the conservation kurī
Andrew
We’ve followed Will into Te Tui a Tane, the southern enclosure here at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. And of course, with his conservation dog, Tia.
Now, Tia is an expert at finding kiwi. Now we've been able to come off track with Will and Tia because we're with them. Normally you have to stay on track of course, but we've had special access into the ngahere here with Will.
So, now, I live up in Northland Will, and you know dogs are a problem for kiwi. But here you've got a dog tracking and helping you find kiwi. How does that work?
Will
Well, Tia's special. She's a dog that's in the conservation dog programme. And she has been training since she was three months old, so, a lot of time and effort goes into making these dogs safe. So, you know, she won't rush in and get a bird. She’ll sniff it out, and then she'll stop a few metres away from where the bird is and tell me where it is.
So, yeah, it takes years to train these dogs. And, you know, even once Tia gets fully certified, the training continues for her whole life, so. We use dogs like GSP – German Shorthaired Pointers – or like pointer type dogs, that have a natural ability to find birds. And because they’re pointers, they will creep up on the bird and tell me where it is. And they've got a well, what we would call a, like an indication. So sometimes it's the paw up and the tail shot out. So that to me means that there is a bird. My dog’s in front of a bird. And, so the ability to read them; and that they're just already really good at it. So we take those skills that these dogs have on like ducks and pheasants, and we transfer it to kiwi.
Andrew
And she loves it too. Look at her, she’s keen, wants to go and explore.
Will
She's looking at a robin over there.
Andrew
You were saying, you don’t even give her treats. So she just, she just works on praise. And this is what she just lives to do.
Will
Yeah. She gets up every morning and she's like, dad I want to go to work. Yeah. She's keen. And as soon as we get into the bush, she's just off searching. So, yeah. That's her. That's what she loves the most. And I did do a little bit of training with a ball. So she does like that. But when she's out in the bush, I can't give her treats. She doesn't want it. She just wants to find kiwi.
Andrew
And obviously, there's some added safety here. You've got her muzzled.
Will
Yeah. So they have a muzzle on just in case something happens. Sometimes we don't know if the birds can run out and they might, might come close to the dog, but the muzzle is a precaution. These dogs are trained to not move as the bird’s walking off. Or if it's, you know, if it’s close to it. We've also got a hi vis vest, so we can see the dog. Sometimes they’re like in really thick bush, so all you can see is this orange jacket sticking out. The dog sort of blends in with the ground sometimes.
Andrew
And you run her with a lead on?
Will
Yeah. So Tia has a long lead, this one's about three metres long. And that's to do with safety and training as well. So, when Tia goes on point, what I can do is I can walk up, because the lead's behind her, I can then step on it as another precaution. So if she wants to move forward, I can reinforce that no this is the distance that you're pointing from, and this is a safe distance that I want you. And she will learn that over time. So yeah, that takes months and months of training to get that distance right, and the lead’s a really good safety tool.
Andrew
Well, it's been awesome following you and Tia through the ngahere this afternoon. Thanks so much for taking some time and teaching us about Tia, the conservation dog, and how she finds kiwi. It's been awesome. Awesome mahi!
Will
Yeah. Thank you. It's been a pleasure having you guys here.
Andrew
Kia ora.
Will
Kia ora.
Kiwi care in action | Te hauora o te kiwi
Helen
Hi.
Andrew
Hi, Helen.
Nice to meet you. Andrew.
Helen
Welcome. Come on in, Andrew.
Andrew
Thanks. Thanks for having us. Take my bag off.
Well, this is a great space. We're in Te Whare Kiirehe at Pukeatua School. And this is Helen.
And, Helen, what a great space for you to do your mahi and to have everybody that comes in to help you with that mahi.
Helen
Yeah, it’s fantastic. We're very lucky that the school let us use this room. And it is really the hub of our whole operation. So every bird that comes off the mountain, every kiwi that's caught by one of the dogs out there, is brought to us here. And we can do a health check on that bird here.
Andrew
Well, we've seen Will and Tia hard at work locating kiwi. And so you've got a kiwi here now, and I can see you're all set up to do a health check. Talk us through the process.
Helen
Well, we get the bird out of the box, and obviously they don't particularly like being handled because they're wild animals, right? So we're careful in how we do handle them and making sure that we hold their legs securely.
Andrew
So that snap was its beak wasn’t it?
Helen
Yeah.
Andrew
Quite loud, isn't it? Beautiful.
Helen
1.102. So, just over a kilo.
Andrew
Yeah. Here we are. Just over a kilo.
Helen
And then we give them a health check. And then we will check their eyes and ears, give them a overall sort of body score condition. How fat or skinny they are, basically.
She’s got lovely whiskers. She's got a very dirty bill. She's been working hard to feed. Just going to check under the bill, make sure it all looks good. Her little nostrils are at the tip there.
So we scan them to see if they've got a microchip already. So if we do find a microchip at this point, it means that she was a founding bird on this mountain. And as a founder, we do not want to take her off the mountain. But she has no microchip.
Andrew
Right.
Helen
So she's been born on the mountain.
Andrew
Yep.
Helen
And this is the first time she's ever been handled.
Andrew
Right.
Helen
When she was caught today.
Andrew
So, this is a real wild kiwi.
Helen
A wild kiwi, and she was, yeah, born on the mountain.
And then once we deem that they're okay to be translocated. We will put a microchip in the bird. So similar to what your cat or dog has at home; just a little microchip under the skin. And that is an identification for the bird. And we can scan it at any point, and we know exactly where that bird's come from.
Andrew
Oh, what a good bird.
Helen
It's in there. Once that's done, we will put a transmitter on the bird’s leg.
Andrew
To their leg?
Helen
To their leg. That's right. And so that's a strong part of the bird. It's basically, a little hospital baby band, like you would have probably worn when you were first born in the hospital. We use one of those to attach the transmitter to their leg.
Andrew
And is that transmitter very heavy?
Helen
No, it's not too heavy.
Andrew
The plumage is, it's quite coarse looking.
Helen
Yeah.
Andrew
So kind of stiff. Stiff, bristly on the outside, but softer on the inner.
Helen
Yeah, that’s exactly right.
Andrew
And I guess when you're running around in the undergrowth, you need to have a pretty good protective layer.
Helen
Needs to be waterproof as well.
Andrew
Right. Yep.
Helen
And we will dose them at that point. So they’re wild birds. So sometimes they'll have parasites.
Andrew
Right. So when you say dose them, it's like giving them some medicine to get rid of those parasites.
Helen
They can come with some extra critters as well. So, sometimes they might have mites or ticks. But to make the bird more comfortable, we'll treat them for those. And that will get rid of those as well.
Andrew
Like what you give your cats and that and that'll get rid of the ticks?
Helen
And give them a really good start to go into the southern enclosure, where they'll stay for a period of time until we move them to their new homes.
Andrew
Brilliant. Oh, well, it's been, it's so neat to come into this space. We feel really lucky to have come in with Helen to show us how it all works. And so, thank you very much. Kia ora.
Helen
You're welcome. Yeah.
Ākonga connections with Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari
Andrew
Okay. What about we go and sit on this seat here and continue our kōrero. Brilliant.
We've come into Te Tui a Tane, the southern enclosure, here at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari with some ākonga from Pukeatua School, which is just down the road.
You guys are so lucky to be living so close to this special place!
And I've been learning lots from them this morning, and I'm going to get them to share some of that with you. And we'll start with Tristen.
Tristen does some trapping on your farm that borders Maungatautari. It goes right up to the predator-proof fence. Tell us about the trapping you've been doing.
Tristen
Yeah. So I do some possum trapping and we also go possum shooting at night. When you go around the mountain, you'll see a whole bunch of possum traps. So if a tree falls down on the fence, no possums can get in, or stoats, weasels and ferrets.
Andrew
Yeah. And that's so cool, because I hadn't ever thought of that. I think, oh well the predator-proof fence, you know, that's going to stop it. But yeah, if a tree falls down that creates like a bridge. But it's also really neat to think about doing some trapping at your own place, because that's really neat. Good for the environment.
Good for those pests, isn't it, Tristen?
Tristen
Yeah.
Andrew
And, you know, good for the trees as well.
And what about Zara? You've got something to share about the school and the houses that you have.
Zara
Yeah. It's like the houses are like, connected to some trees from the sanctuary. The names of it is like tōtara, kauri, rātā and mataī.
Andrew
And Te Kaihou, there's some real benefits to having a school right next to an ecological sanctuary, isn't there?
Te Kaihou
Yeah. So it's pretty cool having our school just down the road from Maungatautari mountain. We get a lot of native birds flying over our school, like tūī, kākā, kererū, fantails and others.
Andrew
Yeah. That's so neat, isn't it? You can... And you can hear them all around. Not sure what that one is.
But Elaina-Ray, you had something to share with us too. Tell us.
Elaina-Ray
Yes. Our kura has been working with Trees for Survival to plant a corridor from Maungatautari to other maunga.
Andrew
Tell us what a corridor is. What do you mean by that? What does it do?
Elaina-Ray
It is like a path of trees that is allowing the birds to have a safe place to rest and fly or walk across.
Andrew
Right. So that means that they can disperse and travel to other places with a bit of shelter, bit of cover, a bit of food, a bit of kai. That's awesome. Yeah. Well done. And you've been planting what sort of trees?
Elaina-Ray
We've been planting mānuka, kānuka. Those are our main lots of trees that we have been planting.
Andrew
Yeah, those are great ones to establish.
Caitlin.
Caitlin
Yes.
Andrew
You've got something to say about the values of yours, your school values, and how they relate to Maungatautari.
Caitlin
Yes, we have our Pukeatua Pride, which goes on of practicing empathy with a kiwi as the bird. Then we've got role modelling leadership with a very proud kererū. And our value of showing integrity is demonstrated by our cheeky bird, the kākāpō. And demonstrating passion with a loud, loud, screechy kākā. Then we have aiming for excellence with our New Zealand Falcon, kārearea.
Andrew
Now, Bella, you sometimes get some pretty special visitors at the school, don't you? Tell us about that.
Bella
Yeah. So there's a Save the Kiwi company who come up to the mountain determined to find kiwi. And so we've got this room at the back of our school. And in that room that's where they bring the kiwi. Last year, mostly every child in the school got to experience going in the same room with the kiwi. And they just do health check ups, and yeah.
Andrew
That's, that's so neat. It must be really cool to be able to see the kiwi up close like that.
Bella
Yeah, it's really cool having them in the same room as you.
Andrew
And you all take part in the education programme that goes on here at Sanctuary Mountain, don’t you?
Elaina-Ray
Yes. Yes, every term we come up for a visit or we have the educators come down and pay us a visit. And we learn about things like identifying trees, identifying birds by their sounds, and simple things like that.
Andrew
That's awesome. Thank you so much for sharing those little snippets of information. And you get a real sense that you guys have got some wonderful connections to this place. You’re very lucky to be living next to a sanctuary like this.
And really awesome that you're doing some great mahi like trapping and learning about our native species. And you know, you're the future of guardianship for these species.
So, thank you so much for sharing. I've really enjoyed.. as we get splattered on by the kākā up above. Look at that. It's in my hair.
I think we’ll leave it there. Kia ora.
The kiwi muster: from forest to future
Andrew
It's Muster Day.
Gaia
Health and safety: the wasps are still an issue. Will got stung a few times yesterday, so be aware of that. They'll probably be a bit calmer while it's still cool, and then they'll start heating up. And everyone's feeling good!? No one’s fatigued? Here comes the dog.
Andrew
Okay, that's briefing done. Health and safety done. We're going to head back up to the Sanctuary Mountain carpark, where everyone's going to regather and disperse from there. It's very exciting!
We’ve come into the southern enclosure, Te Tui a Tane, and this is Gaia. And Gaia works for Save the Kiwi.
Now you're looking for these kiwi who have had the transmitter attached to their leg. And you've got this equipment with us. Just talk us briefly through what you've got here and how it works.
Gaia
So we call this a TR8. And it is a device that has every individual channel that every kiwi that we've got in the southern is on. And it's kind of like a radio station. So you can tune it to a different channel and then you can hear a beep. I have a number on the screen, which tells me where the kiwi is. So if I point the aerial in one direction or another, I'll get the bigger number or a smaller number. And the bigger number is where the kiwi is.
Andrew
Brilliant Gaia. Right. Well, you lead the way.
Gaia
Cool.
As you're getting in closer, you have to be more and more sneaky so that you don't wake them up. So you kind of want to get around and get different angles in, so that you can pinpoint exactly where it is. And then when you're on top, you can kind of poke it around and go, right, I think it's about there. And then you kind of look in with your torch and assess where it is, and then you can go and catch it.
Do you want to try going through there? I'll try and guard this and this. Through here, Kim. So that you can pull him out that way.
Kim
Again in the same place?
Gaia
Yeah, but just know you're above. Yeah. And then just let his feet go forward a little bit, maybe, and then you can get it over. Yeah. And then just, I'll try and guide his head, just slowly, slowly, slowly. Yep. Yep. I've got his head. Yeah.
Kim
Do you want to pull him out this way?
Gaia
Yeah. If you can get him.
Andrew
Oh, I can see its beak.
Kim
No, it's too tight. Too tight.
Gaia
There we go. Okay.
Andrew
Oh, there we go. Out it comes. There he is.
Gaia
Oh, he was really jammed in there.
Andrew
Brilliant. Look at that.
Gaia
So just by looking at it, this is a male. So he's got quite a short bill compared to what a female would have.
Andrew
Yep.
Gaia
So he was just asleep under this bit of punga, in this very tight spot. They are incredibly strong, incredibly good at defending themselves when they're big like this.
Andrew
Yeah, yeah.
Gaia
We'll just get back to our bags and I'll radio to let everyone know that we got one. And then we'll find the runners and we'll pass them on. And then try for someone else.
Andrew
Brilliant. Success. It was awesome!
And this bag, does it just help keep it calm does it?
Gaia
He likes it dark. He's not used to the bright light, even though it's not that bright right now, it's still a lot brighter than what he's used to. And it helps protect him. So we're obviously going to have to walk through the same stuff that we were walking through, and we don't want him to get poked by anything. So it acts as a layer of protection for him.
He's not hugely happy with being woken up. This is probably his biggest day ever. So this bird will have a final health check. He'll be placed in a box. He'll then be driven three and a half hours to Tongariro forest, where he will be released. And that will be where he spends the rest of his life. So he won't have to deal with humans again past today.
Andrew
So Gaia, the runner comes to pick the bird up and takes it back to...?
Gaia
So we have an area where the health teams will do the final health check, and then they'll be moved from this plastic box to a nice big wooden one.
So the volunteers that are helping us out today save us a lot of time. So, rather than us having to always walk there, we're quite close from here. But, from the other side of the enclosure, it is quite a walking distance. So they just save us a lot of time, by doing that for us.
Volunteer
So you want me to go back to my post?
Gaia
Thank you.
Andrew
Thanks. So we've come out of the rain that started to fall, into this purpose built shelter. And this is a just a further health check before they're boxed up again, and sent off to Tongariro.
Gaia
We've weighed this bird. It is 1.99 kilos, and previously it was 1.67. So she's put on somewhere around 320 grams.
So just try and find the skin. Where are you?
Andrew
As you can see, the kiwi are in their boxes. They've been loaded into this van and gosh you can really smell the birds now. But they’re going to go up now to the carpark up outside Sanctuary Mountain Visitors Centre. There'll be a karakia, and then they'll be sent on their way to their new home in Tongariro.
Let's go!
Bodie
…korōria. Nāu te korōria, ā, rirerire hau.
Pai mārire.
Kia ora. Koinā.
