One Small Kiwi. One Very Long Road.
New Zealand’s smallest kiwi needs a big show of support. Vote kiwi pukupuku for Bird of the Year 2026 and follow Lil’ Puku as he travels the length of Aotearoa, raising awareness for a landmark translocation project.
The story
Kiwi pukupuku are the smallest of the five kiwi species, and now the second rarest – every one alive today descended from just five birds moved from the South Island's West Coast to Kāpiti Island in 1912.
From 2028, RealNZ is helping translocate kiwi pukupuku to Ao-ata-te-pō Cooper Island in Tamatea Dusky Sound, a first-of-its-kind move for this taonga species outside a fully fenced sanctuary, made possible by a decade of predator trapping under a Community Agreement with DOC.
Why we’re backing the little guy
We’re a little biased.
Our team has spent almost 11 years helping prepare a home for kiwi pukupuku in Fiordland. Hundreds of traps, checked and reset 4-6 times per year, under a community agreement with DOC. It’ll never be enough to make the island fully predator-free (stoats and rats can still swim across from the mainland), but it has been enough. Enough for DOC and iwi to approve this as the first translocation of its kind outside a fully fenced sanctuary. We’ve spent a decade getting the whenua ready. Now it’s the birds’ turn.
What your vote does
Every vote for kiwi pukupuku in Bird of the Year 2026 helps put this story in front of more New Zealanders. We’re putting our money where our mouths are too. Through our Real Promise (1% of all online bookings from May to September), our Night for Nature fundraising event, and staff fundraising efforts – every dollar raised goes toward the Cooper Island translocation.
Follow the journey
Track Lil' Puku live as he makes his way from Cape Reinga to Fiordland. Tag @Real.NewZealand when you carry him for a leg.
