Unusual ginger coloured kiwi chick released to Taupo creche

Kindara and Radiata

News Release

Unusual ginger coloured kiwi chick released to Taupo creche

Rotorua, 12 November 2014: A cute little kiwi chick with an unusual ginger tinge to its feathers has just been released to Wairakei Golf & Sanctuary Kiwi Creche in Taupo after hatching at Rainbow Springs' Kiwi Encounter.

Kindara is sponsored by Tauhara College in Taupo and named after their school, and their sister school Kindai in Japan. Kindara will stay at Wairakei until he/she achieves a ‘stoat-proof’ weight of 1kg and then will go back to the Karioi Rahui Reserve on the southern slopes of Mt Ruapehu.

Kiwi Encounter Kiwi Husbandry Manager Claire Travers says, "We've never seen a kiwi chick with such ginger colouring, it's very cute!"

Kiwi Creche Sanctuary owner Gary Lane built a predator proof fence around some of his land to offer a safe, natural environment to nurture kiwi chicks to a healthy weight, increasing their chances of survival in the wild. Currently only 5% of kiwi chicks survive in the wild, with stoats and dogs their main predators.

Kariori Rahui is one of five national kiwi sanctuaries where DOC staff collect eggs and take them to Rainbow Springs' Kiwi Encounter for hatching. Once the chick reaches 400g it's released at the Wairakei Kiwi Creche, and at a healthy 1kg in weight they are relocated back to the wild.

If you would like to sponsor a kiwi, visit www.rainbowsprings.co.nz for more details.

Kindara, Emma and Helen at release

Rainbow Springs is an icon of NZ tourism, and has been open since 1932. Spread over 22 acres of Rotorua Parkland, Rainbow Springs is a conservation and breeding haven for endangered species like the Kiwi and tuatara. Features of the award winning tourist attraction include New Zealand’s only “open to view” Kiwi hatchery, and a range of wildlife including trout, tuatara and native birds.

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