Newly named Northland kiwi Vax and Nate, who live on an Ōkaihau farm with 48 other kiwis. Video / Jane Hutchings
Vax and Nate are the newest pandemic namesakes to join a tribe of 50 kiwi on a Far North dairy farm already inhabited by Ashley and Jacinda.
Ōkaihau couple Jane and Roger Hutchings asked for the public's help to name the North Island brown kiwi pair via TVNZ's Seven Sharp.
"And that's what they went for - it's pretty fitting given everything that's going on," Jane said.
The duo will share the vast expanse of pasture and regenerating bush at the scenic farm with familiar feathery roomies Ashley and Jacinda.
"During the first lockdown I discovered a kiwi in a culvert ... within a metre at the other end of the culvert there was a big feathered bum and I realised it was a pair living together," Jane said.
"We saw a lot of kiwi out and about at night looking for food. At that stage, we weren't doing anything, just control work."
The Hutchings set off on a mission to find out how they could better protect the kiwi on their land.
With the help of the Kiwi Foundation and the Northland Regional Council (NRC), the couple teamed up with their neighbours to form a pest control space, which evolved into a Landcare area.
"They gave us a couple of traps and bait stations. Then they helped teach us about what to do so we could start trapping for possums, rats, and eventually stoats," Jane said.
"That got us going and it was really good."
Kiwi Coast Project Northland became a big part of their life as the couple threw their efforts behind the collective goal to make New Zealand's first-ever travel corridor for kiwi to move safely north.
"We're seeing the results as there's kiwi everywhere. Their population in Northland is increasing as we're getting rid of all these pests," Jane said.
Their commitment to protecting their local birdlife excelled when they started to use trail cameras to track the movements of kiwi around the farm, much to Jane's excitement.
