Rare footage of two kiwi chicks hatching has been caught on camera at Rainbow Springs' Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua.
The time-lapse shows the chicks breaking free from their eggs.
Husbandry manager Emma Bean said the facility wanted to capture the beauty and wonder of a kiwi chick hatching, in a new and high-quality format.
Winton has just hatched at Rainbow Springs. Photo/Supplied.
The footage takes high quality photos at one second intervals throughout the active section of the six-day hatch, so that the egg and chick remain in focus while capturing the motion.
"The camera was carefully set up so that we were able to capture this rarely witnessed event while keeping the egg warm and safe in the incubator," Bean said.
"After 11 years working with kiwi, it's even blown me away. This is the first time I've been able to see a hatch in this much detail."
One of the chicks in the footage, Winton, is from Maungataniwha in Hawkes Bay. She is staying with the Encounter until she reaches her 'stoat-proof' weight of 1kg and will then be released back to Maungataniwha.
Cadre has just hatched at Rainbow Springs. Photo/Supplied.
The other, Cadre, from Tongariro has reached her stoat-proof weight and is now living in a predator-controlled area in Tongariro Forest – where she will find a mate and reproduce.
"The chicks are released back into the wild once they've grown to a stoat-proof 1kg so they have the weight behind them to defend themselves," Bean said.
"This increases their survival rates from just 5 per cent to 65 per cent."
The footage has been released ahead of Saturday's World Wildlife Day.
"There are about 68,000 kiwi left in all of New Zealand and we are losing 2 per cent of our unmanaged kiwi every year," Bean said.
To date Rainbow Springs' Kiwi Encounter has hatched more than 1750 chicks. It aims to eventually double the number of hatches each season.
