Posted by * | Posted in New Zealand | Posted on 01-03-2010
Tags: Auckland., public, zoo
Auckland Zoo cracks it for 200th kiwi An eight-day-old kiwi egg pulled from a Northland nest in early December will today become the 200th chick Auckland Zoo has successfully incubated, hatched, reared, and released for the BNZ Operation Nest Egg (O.N.E.) programme. Hatched on Waitangi Day, aptly named Tohu nui (Maori for milestone) - one of the youngest O.N.E. eggs the zoo has ever successfully hatched, is bound for Motuora Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. But the tiny bird’s first big adventure will not be a solo one, as Tohu nui will be joined by Ngakaunui (Maori for proud), the 201st O.N.E. chick to leave the zoo.The pest-free kiwi crèche will be home for about a year – or until the young chicks grow to 1.2kg. By this time, Tohu nui and Ngakaunui should be strong enough to fend off predators like stoats and cats, and can be returned to the Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary area - the turf of their respective whanau.Auckland Zoo joined Operation Nest Egg in 1996 in partnership with BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and other wildlife facilities. The parties work together to give our endangered national bird a better chance of survival in the wild by incubating and hatching wild laid eggs. To date, 1300 kiwi have been released throughout New Zealand.The zoo’s NZ Fauna team has continued to hone its kiwi husbandry skills and this season has achieved a 95% success rate with incubating through to hatching and releasing from the 19 viable eggs received. “Our off-display centre is very much like a busy maternity ward over summer as we have eggs and chicks at various stages of hatching and growing. After a two-and-a-half month incubation, it’s a huge buzz to see them hatch, and even more exciting to see them released,” says Auckland Zoo’s NZ Fauna curator, Ian Fraser. “In areas without predator control, cats and stoats kill about 90% of kiwi chicks before they reach six months old, but O.N.E. reduces that mortality rate down to just 17%. Because kiwi can live over 50 years and produce about 100 eggs, the 200 kiwi chicks we’ve released have the ability to make a very significant contribution to the Northland Brown kiwi population,” says Mr Fraser. The Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary traps an area of 22,500ha over private and public land to protect kiwi. Although O.N.E. at Auckland Zoo helps kiwi chicks get through their first vulnerable period, predation of kiwi by dogs is a major problem in Northland.“Dogs remain the number one threat to kiwi survival in Northland – with all kiwi, including larger adult birds, vulnerable because they lack a sternum and have under-developed wing and chest muscles, so they cannot survive crushing injuries caused by dog bites,” says DOC Northland ranger, Emma Craig. “Good dog control is the best defence against kiwi deaths. Our plea is for dog owners to tie their dogs up at night, and keep them under control at all times. We also need people to realise that kiwi don’t just live in bush – but also in farmland, long grass, rushes, pine forests, gorse and scrub, and in the same places that rabbits and possums hide. Because of this, we ask that if people live in a kiwi area, that they don’t allow their dogs to hunt for these pests, as they may find kiwi as well,” says Ms Craig.ENDSNotes to EditorKIWI FAST FACTS
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