So is it really all rosy for kiwi conservation?

According to this article in Wanderlust it is.

Or you can read this article in Northland's Northern Advocate for a different perspective. Please do click on this link and look at the photograph of a pile of dead kiwi.

We need facts and hard truth here.  Too many people in the travel industry are eager to pick up on positive news and then move on, comforted by the knowledge that everything is going to be okay.  Grim, depressing reality and tourism don't usually mix and I just do not buy into the whole "take only photographs, leave only footprints" thing. Both tourists and those within tourism need to be leaving something a bit more useful than footprints. 

This story is about the Northland brown kiwi and, as The Northern Advocate tell us, "The unique Northland brown kiwi lays more eggs per year than other kiwi, and can start breeding at 3-4 years."   In addition, "Northland kiwi are phenomenal breeders, and can withstand reasonably high chick losses yet still have a growing population."

So what about the great spotted and the little spotted, the tokoeka and the rowi?

Or the fact that the little spotted kiwi can only survive on predator-free islands or behind predator-proof fences?

Or that once you would have found it almost impossible to wander through a New Zealand forest without hearing if not seeing a kiwi?

Or that since 1930 the population has seen a cataclysmic crash from 5 million birds to about 60,000?

This is the harsh reality of kiwi conservation and the danger of an article like Wanderlust's, albeit a completely inoffensive one, is that it gives false hope or encourages a misplaced belief that things are just fine and bypasses the fact that there is an environmental war raging in New Zealand.  And it is largely a guerrilla war being fought by a handful of "little" people who care such as Fergus & Mary Sutherland, Joyce Kolk & Johan Groters, Zealandia and Orokonui.

When the population is up to a good million or so, which is still less than 10% of the original population, then I think Wanderlust will be fine to go ahead and publish an article entitled "Kiwi's future could be looking up". 

Brilliant blog about New Zealand's karearea falcon by Steve Attwood

...at Zealandia and the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington, New Zealand's capital city located at the far south of the North Island.

What an engaging and compelling account of 5 months in the life of a pair of New Zealand falcons and their latest offspring, with brilliant photo illustrations....

Karearea – a season of the falcon

New Zealand falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae)

Zealandia correction and tuatara surgery

Richard Fewtrell has emailed me this gentle and modest rebuke in response to my post of 13 June:

"That's very kind of you to talk about me in your blog. I can't take too much credit though; I'm very passionate about this place and our natural environment but the real stars here are our volunteers and conservation staff who spend hours upon hours working in the valley helping us realise our 500 year vision."

And it is some vision. The tuatara, one of New Zealand's unique and very rare reptiles, is part of that vision and extraordinary steps are taken to protect and nurture them as you can see in this story about one of Zealandia's babies.

Little people and big people

Following on from my last post, Richard Fewtrell at Zealandia has sent me a pair of stories which both illustrate the challenges that face conservation but also celebrate the fact that some are fighting the good fight:

"I think we have a big job on our hands! The day I got back home there was a story on the news about Waituna Lagoon in Southland. It's one of our most precious wetlands remaining but it's under massive threat from dairy farming run off.

More info about the area is here.

It was very depressing.

However there are some glimmers of hope. Just last week in the Dominion Post there was an article about a dairy farming couple in Eketahuna who are being praised for their commitment to sustainable farming.

If only more farmers were like them..."

Making a difference - Zealandia

Our good friend Richard Fewtrell is an eco warrior and a man that we truly admire. There are too few of him, people who see the bigger picture and devote themselves to making a difference, but at least there are a few.

Richard is part of Zealandia in Wellington, a conservation project which aims to restore a little piece of New Zealand to its pre-human state. It is a big job but Zealandia proves that it can be done and if we all take a little share of the responsibility then we can achieve so much more.

I firmly believe that conservation is more about will than money. There is a hell of a lot of cash out there and if we are able to make more people understand why conservation is so important then maybe we will start to see a shift in spending and lifestyle priorities.

At the moment it is all about the "little people" doing their best but if there are enough of them doing it then eventually the "big people" will need to wake up and listen.