Kiwi pukupuku chicks found on the mainland! 🐥

Back in July, our rangers and mana whenua Ngāti Māhaki were surprised and delighted to find kiwi pukupuku/little spotted kiwi in Westland - the first sighting on mainland Aotearoa in nearly 50 years. Following the rediscovery, our team have been hard at work building our understanding of the population and monitoring the known birds. Since the population is critical, with only 9 birds located to date, we’ve been monitoring them during the breeding season. The team went in to check on the kiwi pukupuku and to their surprise, they ended up finding two little chicks! The two chicks, and two eggs from another nest, have been carefully transported to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch where they can grow and develop in a safe environment before returning to the mainland. As the smallest of the kiwi species, kiwi pukupuku are particularly vulnerable to predation, taking 2-3 years to reach a ‘stoat-safe’ weight. Raising chicks in a predator free environment is a proven method for assisting kiwi population growth. You can support our work to grow the kiwi pukupuku population by donating through the New Zealand Nature Fund: https://bit.ly/3Mg1GGC More on the discovery here: https://bit.ly/4po2qb8 🎵: Send Me On My Way | Rusted Roots (trending audio) #AlwaysBeNaturing