Canterbury Kiwi Moves to Coast

Tomorrow morning another Canterbury resident will move out of town. Rūwhenua, a seven month old female Kiwi, is being transferred from Orana Wildlife Park to Hokitika’s National Kiwi Centre. There she will be a companion for Parawai, an 18 month old male and together they will fulfil a conservation advocacy role as part of the captive component of the Recovery Programme.

Acting Head Keeper of Native Fauna, Alyssa Salton, says Rūwhenua has been a great animal to work with: “She is a nice wee Kiwi and was one of the first to hatch at the Park in many years. She is a hassle free bird and whilst we will miss her, this transfer helps to free up space at Orana for future chicks and will also mean she is a great companion for Parawai.”

Rūwhenua, meaning shaky ground or shaking of the land, hatched at the Park two weeks after Christchurch’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake. “As an egg Rūwhenua was rocked about inside the incubator during the earthquake but miraculously still hatched. However, she did attempt to hatch at an awkward angle, putting her foot through the end of the egg, instead of the middle. We had to apply a bandage around the egg, to enable her to push against the padding. Then we removed some shell at which point she gained sufficient energy to break free. Since then she has flourished and is a very healthy Kiwi.”

Kim McPherson, Manager of The National Kiwi Centre, is excited about the imminent arrival of Rūwhenua: “It is an absolute privilege to be receiving such a special little girl. Parawai will no doubt be very curious about what is on the other side of the enclosure and will spend a bit of time “investigating” the new smell. In the coming months this will be the first time that Parawai will have had the opportunity to roam with another Kiwi and we are very excited about that.”

“For the past year Parawai has been living beside his big sister Kura a four and half year old female. Last October we noted that Parawai began to walk strangely. On inspection there was nothing obvious but an x-ray revealed that Parawai had a very rare bone disorder, normally found in farmed Emu, where one leg grew faster than the other. Parawai spent two and half months at Massey University Wildlife Hospital where he had a full leg reconstruction (his leg was broken and a piece of bone taken out and then the leg was put back together). He returned at the beginning of January and is now a happy little Kiwi” adds Kim.

Rūwhenua’s transfer takes Orana’s Kiwi population to thirteen animals, two of which reside in the Nocturnal Kiwi House display (the daily public feed is 1.30pm daily). The Park has five breeding pairs of Kiwi and one animal is currently housed alone. “Whilst Rūwhenua is leaving the Park, visitors still have ample opportunity to view Kiwi here, along with our wide range of other native species” adds Alyssa.

Orana’s Chief Executive, Lynn Anderson, adds: “Whilst the Park has been fortunate to re-open after February’s devastating earthquake with very minimal material damage, it is a difficult time for everyone at present. From our perspective, visitor numbers have dropped significantly since the quake. People can help us by visiting the Park; the school holidays are a great time to visit as we are currently providing a special deal whereby children enter for half price admission.”

Rūwhenua and Parawai are both Brown Kiwi, though of different provenance. Brown Kiwi are classified as Nationally Vulnerable by the Department of Conservation. People can help wild Kiwi by being more aware that dogs kill the birds and hence need to be controlled in Kiwi habitat.