Save the Kiwi’s Erin Reilly shares how her assumptions of our iconic kiwi have changed since getting to know them a little better.
Continue Reading...Archives For Save Kiwi Week
Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).
Today we profile Hannah Edmonds, Biodiversity Ranger in the Fiordland District Office.
At work
Some things I do in my job include…monitoring Haast tokoeka (kiwi) chicks on crèche islands, little spotted kiwi, mohua and saddleback translocations, monitoring Fiordland crested penguins, monitoring long and short tailed bats, and monitoring lizards on islands and in the alpine.
Releasing Haast tokoeka on Pomona Island with Blair Hoult
This helps achieve DOC’s vision by…ensuring the survival of wildlife and restoring ecosystems.
The best bit about my job is… visiting some amazing places, and working with challenging and endearing species.
The awesome-est DOC moment I’ve had so far is… oh so many awesome moments, it’s hard to choose one but flying over Fiordland in the fading light after dropping of little spotted kiwi to their new home on Chalky Island (who’ve been absent from Fiordland for 100 years) would have to be up there.
The DOC (or previous DOC) employee that inspires or enthuses me most is…no one particular person. There are many of my colleagues that work above and beyond a normal working week, driven purely by passion.
Climbing in the Sinbad Gully searching for Sinbad skinks
On a personal note…
Most people don’t know that I… hmmm, now why would I share a secret?
The song that always cheers me up is… “Sun is shining” by Bob Marley… guaranteed to make you smile and not get it out of your head, even if it is raining!
My stomping ground is… Fiordland’s wild places.
If I could trade places with any other person for a week—famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional—it would be… David Attenborough.
My best ever holiday was… probably trekking in India and Nepal.
If I could be any New Zealand native species I’d be… a short-tailed bat – imagine being one of New Zealand’s only native land mammals, being able to fly at night and having plenty of attitude!
My secret indulgence is… Trademe!
If I wasn’t working at DOC, I’d like to…travel the world, be famous, own an island… not too much really!
Before working at DOC I… travelled the world, but never owned an island.
Fiordland crested penguin with chick on Breaksea Island a few weeks ago
On a kiwi note…
What would a New Zealand full of kiwi look like? Like a brown mass of fluffy feathers!
If you could give kiwi one super power, what would it be? Super size it so it becomes like a moa.
How can everyday New Zealanders help save the kiwi? Take part in predator control, do volunteer work with kiwi, or make donations to kiwi charities.
If you could ask a kiwi one question, what would it be? What does the world look like to you?
Do you have a favourite kiwi? Fiordland tokoeka of course!
Loading helicopter with boxes of mohua in the Landsborough, to be released on Resolution Island
Deep and meaningful…
My favourite quote is… “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities,” by Dr Suess.
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is… go with the flow.
In work and life I am motivated by… doing something I enjoy, and making a difference.
Today’s photo, of a Stewart Island tokoeka kiwi, celebrates Save Kiwi Week (14 – 20 October).
Tokoeka – literally meaning “weka with a walking stick” (Ngai Tahu) has four geographically and genetically distinct forms—Haast, northern Fiordland, southern Fiordland and Stewart Island.
The Stewart Island tokoeka are unusual among kiwi for being active during the daytime, as you can see in this photo taken by Alina Thiebes.
Stewart Island/Rakiura is probably the easiest place to observe kiwi in the wild, where some 20,000 still survive.
You can find out more about Save Kiwi Week and how you can help to protect kiwi on the Kiwis for kiwi website.