Five Kiwi killed by predators in one week could be just the tip of the iceberg

The deaths come after the National Wildlife Centre, in the Wairarapa, had to halt pest trapping under alert level 4.

General manager Emily Court says they only have the ability to monitor a small number of birds so they're uncertain how the majority of their Kiwi have fared.

She says it's really sad and they only found the deceased birds because they were wearing transmitters.

In better news, the Centre today secured $2.5 million from the Provincial Growth Fund to build an education centre.