Source: Radio New Zealand
In Rangitane, near Kerikeri, local residents place crosses by the roadside where kiwi have been killed by cars. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Cars were the leading cause of reported kiwi deaths across Northland last year, according to new figures obtained by RNZ.
In 2025, the Department of Conservation received 39 reports of the birds being killed by vehicles in the region – up from 26 birds the year before.
Dogs were the next biggest cause of reported kiwi deaths, with 29 killed in confirmed (16) or suspected (13) dog attacks.
That was also an increase on the previous year’s tally of 16 (11 confirmed, 5 suspected).
However, a kiwi expert cautioned that reported deaths may not reflect the actual numbers killed by different causes.
Kiwi Coast Mid North coordinator Andrew Mentor said the bodies of kiwi killed by cars were more likely to be seen and hence reported.
“When kiwi are killed on the road that’s obviously more available and visual, so you’d expect them to be found more easily than those that are killed by dogs in the bush – which might not be found or reported,” he said.
Roadside crosses show where kiwi have been killed by cars in Rangitane, near Kerikeri. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
DOC’s figures showed the hotspots for kiwi deaths by vehicle last year were Whangārei Heads (11), Russell-Ōkiato (7) and Rangitane-Ōpito Bay near Kerikeri (4).
Within Whangārei Heads, most deaths occurred in a small area between the Nook Road turnoff and McLeod Bay.
Rangitane, with its high density of both humans and kiwi, used to be the worst place in Northland for kiwi road deaths.
However, in recent years Rangitane’s kiwi road toll had dropped significantly.
Dean Wright, founder of the Kerikeri Peninsula Conservation Charitable Trust, put that down to greater awareness among local motorists and a highly visible billboard campaign.
Wright said the trust had identified the three worst hotspots for kiwi deaths, then put up roadside signs alerting motorists.
Some signs were lit up at night, when the birds were out and about, while others were updated with the current toll each time another kiwi was killed.
The group also placed roadside crosses anywhere a kiwi had been run over.
“When we first started recording we were at seven [kiwi road deaths] a year, but it’s been on a downward trend. We’re hoping that’s because of our signage and that this year it’s going to drop more but who knows. I guess there’ll be the odd blip, but at least the trend is going the right way.”
Deb Bayens-Wright and Dean Wright with one of the billboards Kerikeri Peninsula Conservation Charitable Trust has put up around Rangitane. Supplied / Dean Wright
One of the problems was that the speed limit in much of Rangitane was 80km/h.
“We reckon that 50km/h gives them a chance, so you’ve got time to brake if they run out in front of you. But not everyone’s going to do that.”
Collecting kiwi corpses was his “least favourite job”, Wright said.
“Someone will call and we’ll go and pick up the body off the side of the road. It’s really sad, you know, because it’s a preventable death. If you take a few more minutes to get to your destination on the peninsula, it could save a kiwi’s life.”
Wright said the reported figures likely understated the impact of dogs and stoats.
“One, the bodies are never found, and, two, if your dog killed a kiwi, what are the chances of you getting on the phone straight away and ringing DOC and telling them? Bugger all, I’d say.”
A kiwi killed in a dog attack near Russell. Supplied
By far the worst area in Northland for dog attacks on kiwi was the Purerua Peninsula in the northern Bay of Islands, with 16 fatal maulings recorded last year – 12 of which occurred in Wharengaere Bay.
Other reports put that number as high as 20 in Wharengaere Bay alone.
Two dogs were seized for roaming in the isolated bay in January this year.
Last year, three Northland kiwi were reported as being killed by stoats, a drop from four by stoats and one by a ferret in 2024.
Adult kiwi could generally defend themselves against cats with only one kiwi known to have fallen victim to a feline last year.
Other reported causes of death in 2025 included drowning (4), traps (3), natural causes (4), ingesting karaka berries (2) and trauma (4).
Deaths by trauma included being run over by a mower, crushed by a digger, and falling off a retaining wall.
Ten died of unknown causes – usually because the body was too decomposed to establish the cause – compared to 19 the previous year.
The total number of reported kiwi deaths in 2025 was 99, up from 86 the year before.
A Kerikeri conservation group has put up signs around Rangitane with the current death toll, urging motorists to take care around kiwi hotspots. Supplied / Dean Wright
Mentor said the increasing number of kiwi deaths was in part a result of extensive pest control across Northland.
With growing numbers of kiwi in some areas, more were being killed by cars, dogs and other means.
His advice for Northlanders was to take extra care while driving at night.
“Don’t assume it’s a possum on the road, it could well be a kiwi. And please tie up your dogs and be responsible dog owners,” he said.
The kiwi death data was obtained under the Official Information Act.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
