New Zealand warned of extinction for kiwis

Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Kiwis, the fluffy, flightless birds that are New Zealand’s national symbol, could be hunted to extinction by predators within 15 years, conservationists warned Wednesday.

The Royal Forest and Bird Society said the government should more than double funding for kiwi conservation and pay for an effort to kill wild cats, ferrets and stoats that prey on kiwis.

“Eighty years ago, there were 5 million kiwi in New Zealand. Today there are 50,000 to 60,000,” said Eric Pyle, the society’s conservation manager.

He said 95 percent of kiwi chicks born outside managed conservation areas are killed by predators, which were introduced to New Zealand by settlers.

Kiwis have thick, hairlike feathers and wings but can’t fly. The nocturnal birds look like a cross between a hedgehog and an anteater. They can barely see, and use their nostrils to smell worms buried in the dirt.

Conservationists said the government must act now because it may be too late in five years to save the kiwis from extinction.

Poisoning and trapping the predators could save many of the birds, but such an effort needs funding, Pyle said. He recommended that government officials add $7.4 million to the current $4.9 million budgeted for kiwi conservation over the next five years.

Paul Jansen, kiwi coordinator with the government’s Conservation Department agreed that kiwi populations in the wild “are declining rapidly and will disappear.”

He said five large sanctuaries are already protecting kiwis in various parts of New Zealand.

Conservation Minister Sandra Lee said the country’s kiwi population will continue declining until stoats, a ferretlike animal, and other predators are controlled.

But she said the survival rate of kiwis in conservation areas has improved in recent years.

“The good news is that in these sanctuaries the survival rate of kiwi chicks has risen dramatically, from just 6 percent to rates ranging from 25 to 75 percent,” Lee said.