Kiwi Encounter approaches milestone

PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Nearly 20 years ago Turangi DOC worker Cam Speedy arrived with a very special delivery at Rainbow Springs' Kiwi Encounter.

Mr Speedy handed over a kiwi chick egg into the care of the Kiwi Encounter team for incubation and hatching. Te Aukaha safely hatched shortly after and stayed on-site for more than a year, reaching a healthy 1.5kg in weight before being released back to Tongariro National Park.

The hatching of this chick marked the beginning of Kiwi Encounter's now integral role in kiwi conservation and on 2 January 2016 Kiwi Encounter celebrates its 20th birthday.

Mr Speedy, now a wildlife biologist, delivered dozens of eggs to Kiwi Encounter over the years and said the team's work was invaluable.

"The success lies not only with the number of eggs successfully hatched and the kiwi chicks released back to the wild, but the part Kiwi Encounter plays in involving children and the wider community and educating them about kiwi conservation.

"Kiwi Encounter is helping create the next generation of 'conservation warriors' by making kiwi accessible to the community and instilling conservation ethics at the same time."

Kiwi Encounter Husbandry Manager Claire Travers has been there for most of the journey, working in the hatchery for 16 years, and fondly remembers its early years.

"We hatched 15 chicks the first season I arrived, which was trully momentous.

"I can remember all the incubation being done in a wee shed, it was very much do the best you could what you had, which was very little to begin with. There weren't any manuals on how to incubate kiwi eggs, it was learn as you go.

"The incubation and hatching involved long, long hours of coming back at night to hatch eggs or receive eggs that had been lifted from nests and brought to Kiwi Encounter."

She said the learning curve over the years had been phenomenal.

"What we know now and how we understand the incubation, chick development and hatch process is streets ahead, but in saying that we still have a lot more to learn."

To keep up with the growing number of eggs arriving at Kiwi Encounter a purpose-built facility for incubating, hatching and rearing kiwi was opened in 2004, with further enhancements to Kiwi Encounter on the horizon.

Kiwi Encounter is now approaching a significant milestone in kiwi conservation and is about to welcome its 1500th kiwi chick, due to hatch in late December.

Most kiwi chicks don't survive in the wild due to predators such as stoats, so DOC staff lift the partially incubated eggs from their burrows and deliver them to Kiwi Encounter to incubate and hatch. After hatching, the team raises the chicks to a 'stoat-proof' weight of 1kg before relasing them back into the wild.

Kiwi Encounter also plays an important role in helping with kiwi research, the team are currently looking into improvements in the artificial kiwi diet, lighting in nocturnal enclosures, the role of bacteria in egg shell contamination and coccidia (gut parasites) treatment trials.

Kiwi Encounter's kiwi conservation work is funded by Rainbow Springs owner Ngai Tahu Tourism, sponsorship and public donations.

To donate, or sponsor a kiwi, visit http://www.rainbowsprings.co.nz/donate.