New kiwi milestone celebrated by conservationists

In another conservation mile stone for New Zealand another kiwi chick has been hatched at the Rainbow Springs Kiwi Encounter. The Encounter is located in Rotura on the island. The kiwi who has been hatched is the one thousandth to be hatched since Rainbow Spring’s joined a programme to protect the kiwi in 1995.

Staff at the centre spent five days observing as the chick broke free of its shell and eventually was successfully completely hatched. The final breakout of the shell came on Saturday the 24^th September. A tour group who were at the facility at the time where lucky enough to see the final hatching. The bird weighed in at over 385 grams which is healthy and comfortably above average.

Claire Travers is the hatchery manager and she has said that the egg had come from the Waimarino Forest which is in the centre of the country. It had been transported to the centre so it could hatch in safety. She commented, “The chick is very healthy and we are pleased to see another successful hatching.”

The chick will now spend several days just resting in the hatchery while it learns how to function. It will not eat solid food for the first few days as it can survive on the yolk from the egg. The egg is the 25^th to have come from the father Kahu. Male kiwi birds have radio tags so the eggs can be located, the males are the ones who are responsible for incubating the eggs in the wild.

Caring for kiwi
It is 16 years since the Rainbow Springs team began caring for kiwi eggs brought in by Department of Conservation staff and volunteers under Operation Nest Egg (ONE).

The kiwi eggs are kept safe and warm until they hatch, ensuring the chicks get a good start in life away from predators such as stoats and cats. Once the chicks reach a healthy weight of around 1kg they are returned to the wild.

Kiwi Encounter began the 2011 / 2012 breeding season just over three weeks ago and knowing that there were only 12 hatches to go before reaching the 1000 milestone chick. Last season the facility hatched over 130 kiwi.

“We’re very proud to be playing such an important role in the conservation of kiwi. The arrival of the 1000th kiwi at Kiwi Encounter is a great achievement and goes a long way to ensuring the survival of these amazing birds,” Ms Travers said.

Endangered kiwi
The kiwi is one of the world’s oddest birds – with mammalian features such as whiskers and hairy feathers, a long sharp beak, big legs and large feet.

The kiwi lays the largest egg in proportion to its size of any species of bird, and evolved for 70 million years before man introduced the mammals that are now their predators.

Eggs and chicks are particularly vulnerable and declining numbers saw the kiwi placed on the endangered species list, and leading to the establishment of breeding programmes such as Operation Nest Egg (ONE) which is sponsored by the Bank of New Zealand.

Background: BNZ Operation Nest Egg

The ONE programme cares for kiwi eggs harvested from nests in the wild where they would be at the mercy of predators.
The kiwi eggs are incubated and hatched, and the chicks reared in captivity until they are big enough to be released back into the wild. Birds raised this way have a 65% chance of surviving their first year of life.

Only 5% of kiwi hatched in the wild reach adulthood, and 20% survival is needed for a population to grow. Operation Nest Egg has so far increased the chances of a kiwi making it to adulthood by seven times.

Young kiwi are returned to the wild when they weigh about 1kg, big enough to fight off predators.

More than 1600 kiwi chicks have been repatriated since the ONE programme began in 1994, with wildlife facilities and hundreds of DOC field workers and community volunteers contributing to the success.

Background: Rainbow Springs

Rainbow Springs Kiwi Wildlife Park – a 22-acre park with a natural fresh water spring – has been a popular kiwi viewing destination since 1932.

The park became involved in kiwi conservation in 1995 with the arrival of an orphaned egg, and the hatchery is now the largest kiwi hatching facility in New Zealand. Eggs are harvested in 13 areas around the North Island where brown kiwi are found.

The park is open for day and night experiences including evening strolls and a hosted dinner activity. Clever night time lighting enhances the evening experience.

Visitors can view adult birds foraging and feeding in a purpose-built nocturnal Kiwi House, or see conservation work in progress and learn more about the iconic bird in the Kiwi Encounter hatchery and nursery.