My Ultimate Kiwi Encounter
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you have probably already seen the short video of my incredible kiwi encounter at Orokonui Ecosanctuary last week. It was such a unique experience, and I wanted to share a bit more about it all, so here is the full story.
It’s almost a year ago now that I arrived in Dunedin on what was supposed to be my big South Island roadtrip. I had planned to visit the Orokonui Ecosanctuary the next day after it had been recommended to me by friends and fellow travellers. But then our government took me by surprise and announced a nationwide COVID lockdown – and I spent the next day figuring out what to do instead of visiting Orokonui.
But, almost a year later, I'm back, and finally got a chance to visit this magical place. And it turns out the delay was a good thing.
I first visited Orokonui on Monday and had a great time walking around the sanctuary. I walked the Robin Valey track to see New Zealand's tallest tree (pretty tall!!) and explored the shorter trails closer to the visitor centre. It's like walking through a magical forest. I don't really know all that much about birds and plants, so I didn't worry too much about what the ones I saw are called. I just enjoyed watching them and being in nature.
Afterwards, I shared a post about my visit on Instagram – and that’s when the really cool part started.
Elton, Orokonui’s Conservation Manager (and the person behind their Instagram account), got in touch with me and asked if I would be keen to come back and see a young kiwi chick that was due to arrive at the sanctuary that week. I had to read the message twice to make sure I got it right. What an incredible opportunity! So, of course, the answer was YES, and on Wednesday, I made my way back out.
Meeting Lochy
When I arrived, the young kiwi named Lochy was still on his/her way from the airport after flying in from Franz Joseph on the West Coast, but got there shortly after me. At one month old, no one knows yet if it's a male or female kiwi. They look the same, and only a DNA test would tell. Once they get older, males and females can easily be told apart based on weight and bill lengths – females are considerably larger! I had the feeling Lochy is male and since I don’t want to refer to Lochy as “it”, I will use "he" going forward – hopefully, she will forgive me if I got it wrong :)
Lochy is a Haast Tokoeka Kiwi. This is the rarest of all kiwi, and only 5% of chicks reach adulthood in the wild. Not the best odds…
Lochy’s parents are wild kiwis who live on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Conservation workers took the egg before Lochy hatched. While that might seem cruel (poor mom and dad), it’s ultimately a good thing as it massively increases the chances of the kiwi chick surviving. Unfortunately, kiwis chicks are pretty helpless. Once they are older, they have strong legs to kick off predators and defend themselves. But if born in the wild, there is a good chance that a young chick will fall victim to a predator like a stoat, possum or rate – or even an overly territorial fellow kiwi (they really don’t make it easy on themselves…). And apparently, kiwis are not overly maternal, so hopefully, they won't mind too much. According to Kelly, who works at Orokonui, it might actually increase the chances of them having another egg which would be a good thing.
Lochy hatched under the watchful eyes of conservation workers at the West Coast Wildlife Centre. Now that he is a month old, it's time to start preparing him to be a wild kiwi. This usually happens in several steps. For the next little while, Lochy will have his own small fenced-off area at Orokonui. When the team is confident that he is getting stronger, Lochy will be allowed to roam around a bigger area within the sanctuary. Once he is big and strong enough (at least 1.2kg), the team at Orokonui will return Lochy to DOC. In most cases, the young kiwi will then be taken to a predator-free island to grow even stronger before being released into the 'real' wild.
It's been pretty amazing to learn a bit more about this programme, and it's incredible how much effort DOC and people like the team at Orokonui put into making sure our national icon survives. The sad truth is, if it weren’t for this effort, there probably wouldn’t be any kiwi anymore.
The welcome procedure
Lochy’s travel box
When Lochy arrived at Orokonui, he had had a long day. He was grabbed in Franz Joseph early in the morning, put in a little box and taken to Dunedin via plane. A big day for a little guy – especially given kiwis usually sleep during the day.
Kelly, Head Ranger at Orokonui, who had picked Lochy up from the airport, explained that kiwis easily get dehydrated when they are awake for this long and have stressful days. So the first thing the team did after taking Lochy out of his little travel box was to inject fluids directly under the skin. This helps hydrate him and means he’ll recover quicker. Lochy was surprisingly calm thought the whole procedure – though he was probably too tired at this point to fight back. Check out the video below to see how the fluid was injected - you can also see the tiny little wing the kiwi has.
Kelly also attached a GPS tracker to Lochy’s leg so they can find him again once he’s free to roam around the sanctuary.
Setting Lochy free
With extra fluids and a tracker, Lochy was ready to move into his new temporary home. The team had fenced off a little area in the bush, and we carried him over.
I was already feeling fortunate and honoured to have the chance to experience all this. This was nothing like seeing a kiwi in the zoo or as part of some tourist tour. I had a chance to see how kiwi conservation really works.
So when Elton asked if I wanted to hold Lochy and ‘set him free’, I couldn’t believe it. What a special honour! Kelly and Elton explained how to grab Lochy’s feet with one finger in between them and the others around with a tight hold (that little kiwi had surprisingly strong legs) and how to hold the body with my other hand.
I carefully grabbed him, and after a little bit of posing for photos (you can't blame me, how often do you get a chance to have your picture taken with a kiwi chick?!), I carefully set Lochy down in his new home. He was lighter than he looks – but that’s probably typical for birds. I also noticed that his outer layer of feathers is surprisingly rough even though it looks very soft. Here’s a video of me putting Lochy in his new home. I think you can see how much this meant to me :)
I'm pretty sure Lochy was glad when the lid on his little hut closed and he was left in peace. Hopefully, he had a good first night in his new home and grows big and strong to get ready for life in the wild – and hopefully have some kiwi chicks on his own one day.
I will definitely never forget Lochy and this special day. A massive thank you to Elton and the team at Orokonui for inviting me along for this once in a lifetime experience and answering all my questions. It seemed very fitting that it all happened on the 17th of February – the anniversary of my arrival in New Zealand 14 years ago
Kiwis (and more) at Orokonui Ecosanctuary
Takahe at Orokonui
Orokonui Ecosanctuary, about 25min north of Dunedin, is the flagship biodiversity project for the South Island where multiple species of plants and animals are protected from predators. A predator fence surrounds 307 hectares of Coastal Otago forest, pests have been removed, habitat enhanced with weed control and planting, and many rare and endangered species re-introduced.
Within the sanctuary, a 1m high internal fence creates a 14ha crèche where up to 14 juvenile kiwis can grow to at least the 1.2kg they need to defend themselves from their main predators before being released back into the wild.
Orokonui also has a group of about 20 adult Kiwis who are permanently at home at the sanctuary. All of them are Haast Tokoeka Kiwi as different types of Kiwis are usually kept separate.
It's a really beautiful place, and I highly recommend to visit next time you’re in the area. You probably won’t get as lucky as I did and meet a kiwi, but there are lots of other birds, plants and wildlife to admire like the Kākā or Takahē. Check out the website for opening hours and more info.
Fun fact
It’s quite common for kiwis (and other birds) to travel around New Zealand via plane. Air New Zealand usually transports them for free. Here is the best part: A lot of the time, the birds get their own seats. They travel in little boxes like the one shown in the photo. So if you're ever on an Air New Zealand flight and see one of those boxes on the seat next to you, chances are there is actually a bird inside.
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Hi, I’m Lisa. I’m a 40-something on a mission to figure out what life has to offer when you don’t want to follow the traditional path around 9-5 work, marriage and mortgages. Follow my journey.