OPINION

There is a buzz of excitement at Kiwi North because our Living Treasures team, Sarah, Ben, Anette and Irene have welcomed kiwi back to the nocturnal house.

The new additions have yet to be officially named as keepers are waiting for them to settle in so they can observe their behaviour and get to know them better.

The male kiwi is eight months old and came from Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch. He is confident and feisty and familiar with being in a nocturnal house so is already spending time outside of his burrow. The female is a month younger and is from Orana Park. She has not come from a nocturnal house and is more timid, but she is slowly adjusting and settling into her new surroundings.

The nocturnal house is a very special facility as it mimics life in the wild. The lights are off during the day allowing visitors to observe kiwi foraging for food and interacting with their environment as they would naturally. As part of providing best care practice, the nocturnal house habitat simulates the natural environment including changes of temperature and rainfall. The Living Treasures team also provide enrichment such as rotting logs and live insects daily. Then, when the sun sets on us, it rises on the kiwi, the lights come on and the kiwi go to sleep.

Both new kiwi are North Island brown kiwi and are part of the North Island Brown Kiwi Captive Programme. All kiwi in the programme are of eastern provenance, which means they are from the eastern North Island population of brown Kiwi. This population was chosen to be the focus of the captive programme due to it being most at risk in the wild.

Kiwi North is part of this programme, run by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) so it can provide people with an opportunity to learn about kiwi and empower them to take action for kiwi in the wild.

Disco was the most recent inhabitant of the Kiwi House. She has now been released to Maungataniwha, a kiwi sanctuary in the Hawkes Bay. Footage of her release can be found on the Kiwi North Facebook page.

Kiwi North is open daily from 10am – 4pm. Kiwi feedings are daily at 11am and 3pm.