Movement of North Island Brown Kiwi (Apteryx australis mantelli) between Forest Remnants

Twenty-three kiwi were radio-tracked for 16-116 weeks in a Northland reserve. Eighty-three percent of the kiwi made use of the numerous forest remnants scattered over farmland outside the reserve. All remnants isolated by up to 80 m of pasture were used by kiwi. The maximum distance kiwi walked between forest remnants was 330 m. Longer migrations of up to 1.2 km from the reserve were made by kiwi using small forest remnants as 'stepping stones'. The planting and/or protection of small islands of forest adjacent to kiwi reserves is recommended as a method of linking forest remnants together and increasing the effective size of reserves. The possibility of managing several small populations of kiwi in concert to effect a larger population size is suggested.