The following information was extracted from the publication
"Threatened" produced by BNZ in cooperation with the Department
of Conservation and Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.
The Predation Threat In 1987, a dog was on the loose in Waitangi
State forest in the Bay of Islands. For six weeks it rampaged
through the forest killing every kiwi it encountered. By the
time the dog was found, perhaps as many as 500 of the 1000 kiwi
living there had been slaughtered. This carnage at Waitangi
illustrates just how vulnerable the kiwi is to predators and the
speed at which seemingly healthy populations can fail. Other
predators introduced to New Zealand by humans may cause similar
havoc. The main threat to the kiwi is posed by: Possums, stoats,
ferrets, and feral (wild) cats who steal eggs and kill young.
Larger predators include pigs and dogs. Young kiwi leave the
nest at just three weeks of age, weighing only 200g. Small and
slow, they are easy prey. Very few survive this precarious
journey from birth to 12