A kiwi hatching facility has marked its 200th hatchling in just over two years of operating.
Whakaora, the 200th kiwi chick hatched at The Kiwi Burrow north of Taupo, which opened in October 2019. Photo: Supplied/ Save the Kiwi
The new chick has been named named Whakaora, which means "healing" or "to save", and arrived on the auspicious date of the 2/2/2022.
The burrow run by Save the Kiwi also currently has 12 eggs incubating, three in various stages of hatching, and 14 chicks putting on weight in the brooder room.
So far this season, 81 chicks have been released, and the Crombie Lockwood Kiwi Burrow has the potential to beat last season's total of 101 successful hatches.
Save the Kiwi executive director Michelle Impey said 200 kiwi hatched was a significant milestone, because 95 percent of kiwi chicks that hatch in areas of the wild without predator control die before they reach adulthood.
"200 kiwi chicks that probably wouldn't have survived in the wild if they'd been left to fend for themselves will make a huge difference to the future of the kiwi population."
The egg Whakaora grew from was donated by Taranaki iwi Ngāti Tama.
When Whakaora is four weeks old, the chick will be released to live in New Zealand's largest mainland predator-free fenced area, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, south of Cambridge.
And its offspring will eventually be returned to the iwi or sent to other North Island areas where kiwi populations are being fostered.