The first kiwi chicks of the year have started arriving at the Gallagher Kiwi Burrow in Taupō and look at this little guy who will be known as “Wolfie”.
Wolfie is one cute chick and loves the food he (or she – we won’t know until DNA testing is carried out) is being served at the Burrow.
Royal Wolf is proud of our community partnership with Save the Kiwi and supporting them to undertake the valuable work they do to ensure the future of New Zealand’s iconic bird.
Graham Allison, District Manager - New Zealand, says supporting organisations like Save the Kiwi has a feelgood factor that builds morale and pride within the company.
“The Royal Wolf team right around the country feel very proud to get in behind initiatives that support important kaupapa like Save the Kiwi.”
Wolfie originally came from a privately-owned land block called Maungataniwha, located deep in the heart of Hawke’s Bay. The land is managed by Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust who work closely with Ngāti Pahauwera as part of a prolific and successful kiwi conservation initiative.
On September 2, two eggs were lifted from the Maungataniwha forest from a male kiwi adult known as “Tawari”. While female kiwi lay the eggs, it’s the males who sit on them to incubate them, only leaving their burrow occasionally to feed. Tawari is a great dad and usually produces four eggs each breeding season.
Kiwi chicks in the wild have only a 5% chance of surviving. However, by lifting their eggs, incubating them, and keeping them in captivity until they grow to a ‘stoat-proof’ size of around 1kg which is big enough to fight off predators, the birds’ chances of survival increase to 75%.
When the Forest Lifeforce team went in to collect his eggs, they had to patiently wait until 3am when he finally left his burrow to find food before they could lift them. Then, they had to extract the eggs from a super-deep burrow in a hollow log – a saw was required!
We’ll be following Wolfie’s journey as he is transported by the Royal Wolf team to the Kiwi Creche in Napier, and then on his release into the forest.
