Rimutaka Forest Park Kiwi Produce a Viable Egg
January, 2007 - By Margaret Willard
An egg laid by Manaia, one of the eight kiwi released in
Rimutaka Forest Park during 2006, has been found to be viable.
The egg has been taken to Mt Bruce Wildlife Reserve for incubation and
hatching. If it hatches successfully, the chick will at some stage be
returned to the forest park.
Volunteers using telemetry equipment to monitor the birds received a
signal that Manaia’s mate Waikiwianui was incubating
an egg in his burrow. They found two eggs in the burrow, one of which
was rotten, but use of a candling technique showed the other to be
viable.
Volunteer Annette Harvey says the chick was about 65 days old when
examined. “We could see it moving inside. All going well, the chick
should hatch within another two weeks.”
The egg is the first promising sign that the birds will reproduce,
contributing to the goal of ten pairs of birds within ten years. Three
more birds will be transferred to the park this year, making an adult
population of ten, after the age-related death of Koniwi during
November 2006.
“The egg’s arrival is a good sign for the future of the birds in the
park,” says Annette Harvey. “That two are already breeding after eight
months is encouraging, and we’re
excited about the possibility of a chick.”
