Kiwi chick survives being run over by 13-tonne digger

Whisker snoozing bill under wing at Kiwi Encounter Rainbow Springs

News Release

Kiwi chick survives being run over by 13-tonne digger

Rotorua, 20 February 2015: A plucky kiwi chick has survived being run over by a 13-tonne digger a day or two before it was ready to hatch from its egg. Whisker - so named because it survived by a whisker - is now safely at Rainbow Springs' Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua recovering from its ordeal.

The kiwi chick's dramatic and early entrance to the world began when a digger driver at isolated Paparangi Station in the East Cape accidentally uncovered a kiwi burrow.

Local Whinray Kiwi Trust volunteer Steve Sawyer facilitiated the kiwi rescue and says, "The digger driver saw something run in front of his digger, he thought it was a possum and kept working.

"Land owner Clive Lewis then spotted the egg in the culvert on the side of the road and went to pick it up. He was very surprised to hear a squawk and to see a partially hatched kiwi chick. Clive then carefully placed the egg down his swandri top to keep it warm and drove 3km back to his house to call me before meeting me in town," Steve says.

After seeking advice from the Kiwi Encounter team at Rainbow Springs the community quickly rallied around to help the kiwi chick rescue operation, with the local Motu School principal arriving with an incubator and thermometers, and Amy England plucking her 4-year-old from daycare to make the 4 1/2 hour drive north to Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua.

"Not only did Amy have to ensure that the egg was secured safely in the car, and remained in a constant temperature of between 26 - 30 degrees, she also had to entertain her son Cael for the long journey. I think by the time they reached Opotiki the chick had pretty well hatched," Steve says.

Kiwi Encounter Assistant Husbandry Manager Emma Bean says, "When the chick arrived it had a lot of soil around its navel and needed a bit of a clean up, but apart from that it managed to complete the hatch itself and is strong and healthy.

"I would like to commend everyone who helped deliver the chick to us at Kiwi Encounter. The male kiwi sitting on the nest got such a fright it wouldn't have returned and the chick wouldn't have survived, it was just incredibly lucky the chick was so close to hatching! Calling us and keeping the egg warm was exactly the right thing to do."

Emma says she encourages anyone who finds a kiwi egg to call the Kiwi Encounter team for advice.

Whisker will be released to a crèche near Gisborne in about three weeks and then once it's a healthy 1kg in weight and strong enough to survive in the wild it will be released back to the wild at Whinray Scenic Reserve near Motu.

If you would like to sponsor a kiwi, visit www.rainbowsprings.co.nz/donate for more details.

Rainbow Springs is an icon of NZ tourism, and has been open since 1932. Spread over 22 acres of Rotorua Parkland, Rainbow Springs is a conservation and breeding haven for endangered species like the Kiwi and tuatara. Features of the award winning tourist attraction include New Zealand’s only “open to view” Kiwi hatchery, and a range of wildlife including trout, tuatara and native birds.

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