May 2023
Roroa / Great Spotted Kiwi Tranaslocation news
A thank you letter
Kia ora koutou
I’d to convey a huge thankyou to all those who were involved directly or indirectly in the planning for, or actual translocation of 8 roroa/great spotted kiwi from the (unfortunately named) Ugly River in Kahurangi National Park to Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes National Park on Wednesday of this week. I started listing the DOC staff from our office and the coast in this email who had been involved with the intention of following on with those from the Friends of Rotoiti, Ngati Apa etc and realised there were so many I would almost certainly miss some so please excuse the ‘all-points bulletin’. For those who have received this and can see others involved who won’t receive this – please forward it on.
This is a massive achievement and I know from my brief and distant experience that catching kiwi in the wild is hard work for many reasons, not the least of which is because most of it all happens in the dark and all in remote areas with difficult terrain. You can all be very proud of your efforts, and I know that many of you will continue to be substantively involved in tracking their progress over the next few months. I sincerely hope they do well in their new home. I have seen a few photos of the release and look forward to seeing more from the capture site. Great to have our iwi partners, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō hands-on involved in the release this year after leading last year’s powhiri with Ngāti waewae for the first birds and of course the massive efforts of our close Friends (of Rotoiti).
Ngā mihi nui ki te koutou
John ( John Wotherspoon)
