Kiwi Pukupuku Translocation Project
This year we are launching one of our most ambitious conservation projects yet, helping return kiwi pukupuku to Ao-ata-te-pō Cooper Island in Tamatea Dusky Sound.
The kiwi is one of New Zealand’s most recognised and treasured icons, yet kiwi pukupuku are now the second rarest of the five kiwi species, with an estimated population of just 2,100 birds remaining worldwide, all descended from only five birds transferred to Kāpiti Island in 1912.
After more than a decade of predator trapping and habitat restoration led by RealNZ, Cooper Island will become the first predator-managed site where kiwi pukupuku are reintroduced outside of a fully fenced or predator-free sanctuary. It is the result of years of hard, boots-on-the-ground conservation work, and a bold step toward ensuring one of Aotearoa’s most threatened taonga species can continue to flourish for generations to come.
About the kiwi pukupuku
- Kiwi pukupuku are the smallest of the five kiwi species, weighing just around 1-2kg.
- They are the only kiwi species with vestigial (tiny, invisible) wings.
- Once widespread across the New Zealand mainland, kiwi pukupuku were driven to near extinction by introduced predators, particularly stoats, rats, and cats.
- Today, kiwi pukupuku are largely restricted to offshore islands and mainland sanctuaries. The largest and most thriving wild population lives on Kāpiti Island, the source population for the planned Cooper Island translocation.
- Unlike other kiwi species, kiwi pukupuku are generally quiet and elusive, but their distinctive high-pitched whistles and trills are unmistakable to those lucky enough to hear them.
- Kiwi pukupuku are taonga - a treasured species of immense cultural significance to Māori.
The Cooper Island Project: Ten years in the making
Ao-ata-te-pō / Cooper Island sits within Tamatea Dusky Sound, deep in Fiordland National Park — one of New Zealand's most remote wilderness areas. Since 2015, RealNZ has independently led a predator trapping programme on Cooper Island under a Community Agreement with DOC, making four to six annual trips each year to check and reset a network of over 360 stoat traps and almost 300 rat traps.
Cooper Island can never be fully predator-free - its proximity to the mainland means stoats and rats can swim across. But a decade of relentless trapping has suppressed predator numbers to the point where DOC has approved the translocation of kiwi pukupuku to the island - a significant vote of confidence in the work RealNZ has led.
The birds will come from Kāpiti Island, home to one of the most thriving kiwi pukupuku populations in the country. Their arrival on Cooper Island will mark the return of this taonga species to Fiordland.
Learn more about the Cooper Island Restoration Project >
How we're making it happen
RealNZ's Real Promise is at the heart of funding the kiwi pukupuku translocation and the ongoing conservation work that underpins it. From 1 May - 30 September 2026, 1% of all online booking revenue will be donated to the kiwi pukupuku recovery project. Every adventure you book with us online contributes directly to bringing kiwi pukupuku home to Fiordland.
