Killing Possums can Kill Kiwi
Possums, introduced from Australia in the 19th century to establish a meat and fur industry, are now decimating New Zealand forests and killing native birds and invertebrates.  Another ‘good idea’ gone bad.  Ironically, some of the techniques we now use to kill the possums indirectly help the kiwi, but can also sometimes kill them. 

Take leg hold traps.  These traps are generally set on the forest floor where they can kill or maim kiwi.  A disturbing number of kiwi bear the scars of a narrow escape - missing toes or feet, or damaged beaks.

The simple solutions are to mount the gin trap 70-centimetres off the ground, or use other types of traps, such as the Timms and Victor soft-jaw traps, that are less likely to harm kiwi.

Cyanide poison, used in some possum bait, kills kiwi as easily as it kills possums.  Again, the solution is simple – to mount the cyanide baits 70-centimetres off the ground (not just on fallen logs).

Possum hunting may also bring in predators, such as cats, attracted to the carcass left behind when the possum has been skinned. When the carcasses run out, the cats move on to kiwi chicks.

Research on radio-tagged populations of kiwi has shown that possum control using sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) poses a very low risk to kiwi – none of more than 100 radio-tagged adults monitored to date has been accidentally killed.  An advantage of these operations is that they also remove stoats and wild cats, providing a window of opportunity for a cohort of chicks to survive to a safe size.

Motor Vehicles
Sometimes we run kiwi over on our roads.

New Zealand’s population has just hit 4-million people, and we all need somewhere to live.  Our homes are built in areas that were once kiwi-land and, as we spread, so the number of roads and traffic increases.  Kiwi are no match for our vehicles and birds are sometimes killed crossing a road that dissects their territory.

If you live in a kiwi area, remember that that dark hunched shape on the road at night may not be a possum – it just might be a kiwi.  If you hit a kiwi, do not hit-and-run. Injured birds should be taken to the nearest vet for treatment as soon as possible. If dead, the Department of Conservation would like the body to help keep a record of where it lived, gain useful scientific information from an autopsy, and allow local Maori to use the feathers to repair kahukiwi, their cloaks.

Hidden Hazards
While swimming pools and cattle stops are helpful to people, they can be death traps for a kiwi.