Whitireia kiwi. Photo: Supplied / Aaron Black
A kiwi has been killed after a dog attack in Porirua.
It is the first known dog attack death from The Capital Kiwi Project, which has released more than 200 birds into Wellington.
The bird was found in Tītahi Bay - 25 kilometres from where the bird was freed on Terawhiti Station nearly three years ago.
The Capital Kiwi Project said its injuries were consistent with a dog attack.
Founder Paul Ward said everyone plays a role in protecting kiwi.
"The fate of this kiwi reminds us all of our roles - as individuals and communities - to help lay out the welcome mat for our national symbol."
Ward said it was a complete surprise that the kiwi had travelled so far, with the project's northernmost known kiwi nearly 14 kilometres further south.
"Nearly a decade of landscape-scale stoat removal effort from locals, iwi, and landowners paved the way for kiwi return, after 150 years of extinction on the hills surrounding Wellington city. A 4600 strong trap network to control stoats - the main predator of kiwi chicks - has resulted in extraordinarily high rates of chick survival and a thriving wild population," he said.
"The lesson here is how far Wellington's restored wild kiwi population has spread and how quickly. Kiwi could now be living anywhere from Pariwhero (Red Rocks) to Porirua. Kiwi can live for more than 40 years and travel great distances."
Rawiri Faulkner, the pou toa matarau of Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira - the iwi authority for Ngāti Toa - said it was a privilege to have this manu taonga sharing the whenua once again.
"As kaitiaki we are saddened by this death. We have a duty of guardianship and we ask our community to take measures to look after kiwi and all of our taonga species so that they thrive.
"This includes controlling pets and doing whatever we can to ensure the safety of these precious taonga.
"He kaitiaki tatou i te taiao mo ake tonu." (We are guardians of the environment forever).
Photo: Supplied/Capital Kiwi Project
The project said uncontrolled dogs are now the main threat to adult kiwi.
"We ask our community to take measures to look after kiwi and all of our taonga species so that they thrive. This includes controlling pets and doing whatever we can to ensure the safety of these precious taonga," it said.
The Capital Kiwi Project are asking the community to keep dogs on leads where required, and contained at night.
"We expect death as a part of delivering a thriving wild kiwi population; it is a reality of the mahi, but we feel this loss.
"The kiwi was in outstanding physical condition (as has been observed across the project's monitored kiwi population). The project is firmly on target - all key metrics for delivering a population of Wellington wild kiwi are being met and exceeded."
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