Kiwi Chicks Boost Population

Kiwi Chicks Boost Population

Kiwi released at Pukaha Mount Bruce in May have produced their first offspring. In the last few days, the first three chicks of the year have hatched.

After a couple of months of settling in and establishing territories, the adults from Hauturu /Little Barrier Island have been busy since August producing eggs.

Five fertile eggs were retrieved from nests and placed in the hatching facility at Pukaha Mount Bruce this season. The two remaining fertile eggs are expected to hatch within the next two weeks.

Kiwi at Pukaha Mount Bruce are getting a helping hand from the Department of Conservation through BNZ Operation Nest Egg™. This involves removing eggs from the wild to be hatched in captivity and then releasing the young kiwi back into the wild when they weigh 1kg, and are big enough to defend themselves against predators such as stoats.

In the wild, only 5 percent of chicks will make it to adulthood. Using BNZ Operation Nest Egg™, 65 percent will survive the vulnerable first year of life.

DOC Wairarapa Area Manager Chris Lester said after the loss of 12 kiwi to a ferret during the winter, the new births were a welcome addition to the local kiwi colony.

“It’s a graphic demonstration of the benefits accruing from the Hauturu/Little Barrier Island translocation. We’ve had some rough times this year, but to see these chicks fighting their way out into the world reinforces everything we are doing here – it’s great!”, Mr Lester said.

“We’ve worked closely with pest control experts to make sure that our pest control programme follows and meets national best practise standards. We’re confident that we’re doing everything within our power to ensure that these chicks, and all of our kiwi, are given the best possible chance to survive.”

“We’re aiming for a self-sustaining kiwi population at Pukaha,” Pukaha Mount Bruce Board chair Bob Francis explains. “Every chick that is born brings us closer to that goal.”

Since starting the BNZ Operation Nest EggTM programme in 2005, 10 fertile eggs have been collected from the Pukaha forest and hatched in captivity.

There are currently 44 kiwi in the forest. They were first reintroduced there in 2003 as part of the Pukaha restoration programme.

Meanwhile visitors to Pukaha will soon be able to view the progress of chicks being reared in captivity. The BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ kiwi programme is being incorporated into the revamped kiwi nocturnal house at the National Wildlife Centre. When it opens in December, visitors will be able to see into the incubation room and the brooders where the kiwi chicks hatch and are looked after until they are returned to the forest. A two-way intercom will enable visitors to interact with the rangers.

The $1.4 million upgrade and expansion of the nocturnal house is the second stage of a major revamp of the visitor centre. The project is being undertaken by local contractor DR Borman Ltd

Find out more:

Pukaha Mount Bruce website: http://www.pukaha.org.nz/
Kiwi: http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/land-birds/kiwi/
BNZ Save the kiwi website: www.savethekiwi.org.nz

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