The Worlds Rarest Kiwi - Number 200 Hatches Today !

December 24th

With less than 450 of the world’s rarest kiwi still left alive in the wild today it is with great delight that the West Coast Wildlife Centre has today announces the successful hatching of it’s 200th Rowi kiwi in just over 5 years of operation.

Rowi are the rarest kiwi in the world and are found only in the Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary near Franz Josef, South Westland.The egg just hatched is the fourth egg this season from the nest of Beebop ( Male ) and two females Baldy and an unknown female ?!.This 3 way breeding partnership has been in place now for quite some time.

The chick ( as yet not named ) has a wonderfully festive white cluster of feathers under its chin – like a Santa beard!.It will stay in a brooder at the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef for around a month before being moved to an outdoor pen at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch.

Once the chick has adapted well to an outdoor environment ,and is foraging well for food, it will be transferred to Motuara Island in the Marlborough Sounds.The bird will eventually return to the Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary ,where life first began, able to fend off the kiwi’s main predator - the stoat !.

“It has been a really amazing and proud journey for all the team” says owner and entrepreneur Richard Benton who first set up the operation in 2010 transforming a modern building in Franz Josef into the largest kiwi hatching facility in the South Island. “It really is wonderful to be part of a team that is making a real conservation difference that will benefit future generations” says Benton who also set up a penguin sanctuary ( New Zealand Penguin Encounter ) at the International Antarctic Centre in 2006 for injured and sick endangered White-flippered penguins.

“ This partnership with The Department of Conservation has been an outstanding success and example what can really be achieved by sharing joint resources” says Benton.

The West Coast Wildlife Centre is the South Island’s largest kiwi hatching facility and open to the general public from 8.30am daily .It was judged by Lonely Planet as one of its top 12 new favourite places to visit in New Zealand and has won a number of West Coast business awards.

Here visitors can go “behind the scenes” to see for themselves the kiwi hatching and rearing facilities, meet the dedicated team of kiwi rangers and see the world’s rarest kiwi’s up close in the nocturnal house and bush walkway.

Every week until the end of January kiwi eggs are delivered to the Wildlife Centre by The Department of Conservation as the team gears up for another very busy start to 2016.

Since first opening in November 2010, the West Coast Wildlife Centre has released a total of 200 Rowi kiwi and 98 Haast Tokoeka kiwi.

In partnership with the Department of Conservation and “Kiwis for kiwi” – The Kiwi Trust,this involves removing eggs from the risk of predation in the wild, hatching them in captivity, and placing the chicks in a predator free environment until they are big enough to defend themselves.

Numerous businesses, local dedicated people and visitors to New Zealand have proudly supported the West Coast Wildlife Centre’s kiwi sponsorship program, which helps the West Coast Wildlife Centre to fund purchasing kiwi food, incubation and brooder room equipment, veterinary products and build new facilities.

“We really value the support we get for our hatching facility from the West Coast community and beyond ” says Benton“ and we encourage any visitors to Franz Josef to drop in and see for themselves this really exciting kiwi facility on the West Coast.”

The facility was developed in late 2010 as public-private partnership between the Department of Conservation and a private investor – Richard Benton - at a cost of over $2.5m. Inside the all weather facility you can see live kiwi, west-coast storytelling, interactive glacier displays as well as a enjoying a café and a NZ gift shop with free Wi-Fi.

It costs $35 for a 24hr pass to visit the all weather / indoor West Coast Wildlife Centre and a ticket that includes the “backstage tour of the hatching and brooding facilities” is just $55. Bookings are recommended to avoid disappointment, as demand is high at certain times of the year.

The West Coast Wildlife Centre, and its team, is fully committed to saving the kiwi and protecting and preserving New Zealand native wildlife.

ENDS

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