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The West Coast is the home of New Zealand’s rarest kiwi.
Kiwi are a flightless, nocturnal bird, only found in New Zealand. There are five different species of kiwi, all of which are endangered due to introduced predators and habitat loss. The Rowi and Haast tokoeka are the two most endangered kiwi in the world, with only around 370 of each bird remaining. Rowi are restricted to the Okarito Forest, north of Franz Josef Glacier, and the Haast tokoeka are restricted to a small area of forest near Haast, South Westland.
With the support of BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust, the Department of Conservation uses BNZ Operation Nest Egg to save endangered kiwi from extinction. BNZ Operation Nest Egg involves removing eggs from the risk of predation, hatching them in captivity, and placing the chicks in a predator-free environment until they are big enough to fend for themselves. They are then returned to the wild.
In the wild, only 5% of kiwi that hatch will survive to adulthood due to predation by stoats. If we can help to get a kiwi chick over 1kg in weight through BNZ Operation Nest Egg, that chick's survival rating will dramatically increase to 85%!
The West Coast Wildlife Centre opened in November 2010 and is a public private partnership with the Department of Conservation. It is the official home to the incubation and captive rearing program for New Zealand's most endangered kiwi - the Rowi and Haast tokoeka. The West Coast Wildlife Centre plays a key role in BNZ Operation Nest Egg by providing specialist husbandry care to help save the Rowi and Haast tokoeka from extinction.
Over the next few years it is anticipated that all the Rowi and Haast tokoeka eggs collected from the forest, will pass through the West Coast Wildlife Centre before finally being released back into the wild after passing through a crèche facility.
The West Coast Wildlife Centre is the only place in New Zealand that you can see the Rowi in a nocturnal walkthrough area or go behind the scenes to see the Rowi and Haast tokoeka captive rearing programme. This is a fascinating South Island New Zealand tour not to be missed.
Check out our amazing New Zealand kiwi images here.
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