Prime Minister meets kiwi chick at Rainbow Springs

Media statement

23 March 2017

Prime Minister meets kiwi chick at Rainbow Springs

Prime Minister Bill English met a kiwi chick at Rainbow Springs in Rotorua this morning, while on a visit to learn more about the park’s kiwi conservation work.

The chick, named Empy, hatched 24 days ago, and arrived at Rainbow Springs’ Kiwi Encounter from the Maungataniwha Native Forest.

Ngāi Tahu Tourism Chief Executive Quinton Hall says it is fantastic to have the Government’s support for kiwi conservation and Rainbow Springs.

“To have the Prime Minister visit and experience this and hold a kiwi chick is great,” says Mr Hall.

Rainbow Springs has been operating for 85 years and is one of Ngāi Tahu Tourism’s 11 iconic businesses across Aotearoa.

Earlier this month, Rainbow Springs was awarded $630,325 from the Tourism Growth Partnership fund to build a state-of-the-art kiwi facility.

“Our goal is to provide the best kiwi viewing experience in the world and make Rainbow Springs the place to see and learn about kiwi.

“Conservation is the cornerstone of our work at Rainbow Springs,” says Mr Hall.

“We take our role as kaitiaki seriously, so caring for our environment and wildlife is one of our core values.

“As our national bird, the kiwi has a special place in Aotearoa, and we are proud to be able to play a part in ensuring its future.”

Wild kiwi numbers currently sit just below 70,000 and kiwi numbers currently fall by 2 per cent each year.

Through the Operation Nest Egg programme, Rainbow Springs supports The Kiwis for Kiwi Trust and aims to increase all kiwi species by 2 per cent each year, within 5-15 years.

Rainbow Springs first became involved with kiwi conservation when the birds were displayed at the nature park in 1975, allowing the team to show and educate visitors about the unusual creatures.

In 1995, Rainbow Springs joined the Operation Nest Egg programme and received its first egg. Since then, the team’s work has helped the population of North Island brown kiwi considerably.

The park is now the leading kiwi hatchery in New Zealand and has hatched 1,650 eggs at its Kiwi Encounter facility.

Facts about the kiwi chick

• Date of hatch: 28 February 2017

• Empy’s father is called Shaw. Shaw has had 37 eggs through the programme.

ENDS

Rainbow Springs Nature Park

Rainbow Springs Nature Park is an icon of New Zealand tourism, and has been open since 1932. Set in acres of Rotorua parkland, Rainbow Springs has a strong conservation drive and is a breeding centre for endangered native species like the kiwi and tuatara. Features of the award-winning tourist attraction include New Zealand’s only “open to view” kiwi hatchery, Kiwi Encounter, the Big Splash water ride, free-flight bird show and a range of wildlife including trout, tuatara and native birds. Rainbow Springs is part of Ngāi Tahu Tourism's tourism portfolio.

Ngāi Tahu Tourism

Ngāi Tahu Tourism is one of the largest tourism operators in Aotearoa, hosting more than one million customers every year across its 11 iconic businesses: Rainbow Springs, Shotover Jet, Guided Walks New Zealand, Dart River, Dart Stables, Franz Josef Glacier Guides, Glacier Hot Pools, Hukafalls Jet, Agrodome, Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters and Earth & Sky (joint venture).

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