reserve design

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'.

Twelve kiwis were radio-tagged and tracked for 12-78 weeks in two sites in Hawke's Bay. Four bonded pairs had ranges of 19.1 to 42.3 ha (estimated by the convex polygon method), which were apparently defended against other kiwis. Two unmated females had ranges of 48.0 and 43.1 ha. Another unmated female occupied a narrow, circular strip, 5.4 km long, covering about 26 ha. The ranges of four kiwis in scrubland and eight in climax beech/podocarp forest were similar in size.