Why did the kiwi cross Kamo Rd in Whangarei?

How this young kiwi ended up dead on Kamo Rd last week remains a mystery.

Why did the kiwi cross the road?

Nobody has an answer for what a kiwi was doing in the middle of Kamo Rd near the heart of Whangarei city last week.

The mystery - a young female bird dying at the scene from injuries indicating it had been struck by a vehicle - is no clearer today than it was last Wednesday.

No kiwi live close to the middle of the city, although the Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary, a series of protected, predator-controlled kiwi habitats strung around the district, holds possibly the biggest population of the iconic bird nearest to any New Zealand city.

While many can't help but speculate about the mystery bird, that is something the experts refuse to do.

''Unfortunately, I do not have any further information regarding the Kamo kiwi – it remains a mystery,'' said Kiwi Coast co-ordinator Ngaire Tyson.

Tyson said with kiwi numbers increasing close to the city perimeter - although none close enough to account for the Kamo kiwi - urban motorists and pet owners would need to become more vigilant.

No one was available yesterday at Department of Conservation to confirm if DNA testing had been done

Bevan Cramp, ranger for Pukenui Western Hills Forest Trust, said the kiwi was not one of the 12 kiwi recently released deep in the forested ranges on Whangarei's fringe.

Unlike the mystery bird, the Pukenui ones are all microchipped. They are all closely monitored and none have gone missing.

''It would be wrong to speculate where it came from as we really have no idea,'' Cramp said of the Kamo kiwi.

''We know it's not one of ours. Our kiwi are all doing well, they're all monitored at least once a week so we can keep close tabs on them. This is the closest release ever to a city but it would be wrong to assume it's too close. Kiwi were in Pukenui Forest until the 1990s so we know they are more than happy to live there.

''We're doing all we can to keep these birds safe but it really falls on the community as a whole as to whether or not the translocation succeeds. If the community stays vigilant, keeps pets under control and drives carefully around the forest there's no reason kiwi can't do well in the Pukenui.''