Whiuwhiu the kiwi left his footprint in the new footpath.
Whiuwhiu the kiwi left his footprint in the new footpath.
Whakatāne has been known as the kiwi capital of the world for more than a decade, and now it has its own walk of fame.
One of its resident kiwi has recently stamped his mark on the town. Adult male Whiuwhiu lives beside Kōhī Point Lookout Road.
When Waiotahi Contractorswere creating the footpaths a few months ago, Whiuwhiu secretly left three footprints in the concrete.
The footprints went undetected until last week, when Sue Laurent, who monitors the kiwi through a radio transmitter attached to his leg, spotted the faint footprints in the new concrete.
Whakatāne District Council has recently widened and sealed the road and added footpaths. Construction began in September last year and has moved forward haltingly, with one delay due to the same kiwi discovered to be sitting on eggs in an area where the contractors were excavating.
At the time, the roading project had to come to a halt while the Kiwi Trust team rescued the eggs.
Kiwi Trust volunteers Ken and Sue Laurent with marketing and funding co-ordinator Hilary Sheaff, pointing out the footprints with one of their kiwi monitoring aerials. Photo / Troy Baker
Whakatāne District Council capital projects transportation team leader David Wathall said it was very special to see Whiuwhiu’s footprint immortalised in the new footpath.
“We’re truly the kiwi capital of the world here. We know that Whiuwhiu often hangs out in this area, so during construction of the new road and footpath, the council and Waiotahi Contractors were careful to ensure we didn’t inconvenience him in any way.
“We worked with the Whakatāne Kiwi Trust and the Department of Conservation to ensure he wouldn’t be disturbed, and made sure he wasn’t nearby during some noisier periods of construction.
“After that, it’s good to see he’s stamped his approval on the new footpath.”
As well as the footprint that is set into the concrete, muddy footprints Whiuwhiu has left on other parts of the new white footpath can be seen, which are less permanent, but show that he often crosses the road in different spots.
Whiuwhiu about to go for his evening stroll on Monday night.
Female kiwi lay the eggs, but it is the male kiwi which incubates them.
Laurent said Whiuwhiu was a particularly dedicated father and would often incubate three clutches of eggs a year. He would sit on each clutch for about 70-80 days - so, over 210 days a year.
Kiwi Trust marketing co-ordinator Hilary Sheaff said while Whiuwhiu was incubating eggs, he would leave the nest for about one or two hours each night, just to grab a quick bite to eat. He will pick up bits of sticks and leaves and place them over the entrance to his nest whenever he leaves each night.
Along with the kiwi footprints, rubber burn marks can be seen on both the new road and the footpath.
Laurent’s husband Ken, who is also a long-standing volunteer with the Kiwi Trust, said he was a bit worried about speeding drivers hitting the kiwi during one of his nightly wanderings, and hoped that this evidence of his frequent crossing would encourage them to slow down for him.
