<I>Apteryx mantelli</I>

Size matters: predation risk and juvenile growth in North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

This study investigated how predation risk in North Island brown kiwi changes as the birds grow and develop. Over a 10-year period, 53 adult and 126 young kiwi were radio-tagged at Lake Waikaremoana and studied to determine survival rates, causes of death, and rates of growth. Predation loss amongst adults was low (2.49% year-1) and caused mainly by ferrets. Young kiwi suffered intense predation from stoats during their first four months of life, but thereafter became too large (> 800 g) for stoats to kill.

Survival of brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) exposed to brodifacoum poison in Northland, New Zealand

Brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) in central Northland have been monitored for up to 32 months of sustained exposure to brodifacoum poison. The cereal baits were placed in bait stations to target brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Annual survival of 55 radio-tagged adult kiwi in two poisoned forest patches has been high (95.9%), and similar to that in two nearby unpoisoned forest patches and in the patches before poison was used (95.3%).