This morning M got the priviledge of holding a kiwi chick - only seven days old! This chick had just been collected from the forest by the Department of Conservation Kiwi Recovery Team. If left in the forest it would only have a 5% chance of survival, as these chicks are heavily predated by introduced stoats. The chick will be taken to a special predator free island for about one year, or until it reaches about 1 kilogram in weight. It will then be able to fight off stoats and will be returned to the Okarito forest.
Okarito Kiwi can live up to 100 years of age, and can be actively breeding for most of that time.
Lucky Monty !!!
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