2020-04-01 Reader\'s Digest AUNZ

butitsgoalisthesame:

thecontinuation ofthe

kiwi.Locatedinthecityof

Rotorua,anhour-and-15-

minutedriveinlandfrom

coastal Whakata–ne, i t ’s

hometotheNationalKiwi

Hatchery Aotearoa,the

world’slargestofitskind.

EmmaBean,38,isthekiwi

husbandrymanagerthere.

Sheandherstaffofseven

hatchandreleaseanaver-

ageof 130 chickseachyear

(theaveragehatchingrate

is 95 percent).

Sheknowsthatsuccess

issomewhatartificial,but

untilkiwihabitatisfreeofintroduced

predators,humansneedtointervene.

“Ifeggsarriveat3am,we’reallready

tobehere,”shesays,addingthatwith-

infivedaysofbirth,chicksknowhow

toprobeforinsectswiththeirlong

billandarereadytowander.Brown

kiwioftenleavetheirdad’snestafter

aweek,whileotherspeciestendto

hangaroundfora bitlonger.

Thoughshe’sworkedatthehatch-

eryformorethana decade,Beanre-

mainsfascinatedbyhercharges.“Kiwi

arebiologicallysignificant,”shesays.

Unlikemostotherbirds,theyhavetwo

ovaries,notone.Theirtemperatureis

morelikethatofhumans:38°Crather

than 40 or42.Theirbonesaren’thol-

low;theycontainmarrow.Andthey

canlivefor 50 yearsormore.

Kiwi also have a distinctive call,

piercingfora male,raspyfora female.

It’smadeaftersunset,thenrepeated

tento 25 times.“Acoupleofyearsago,

a chickcrackedopenitsshelland,still

wet,dida massivecall,followedby

ninemore,”saysBean.“Mostkiwiare

tooshatteredaftertheexertiontodo

that.Butthislittleonewasyelling,‘I’m

here.Yes,I needyourhelp,butI’mnot

goingextinct.Listentomecall.’”

YoucanhearthesecallsatZealan-

dia.Aneco-sanctuaryinthecoun-

try’scapital,Wellington,its500-year

goalistorestorethevalley’sforest

andfreshwaterecosystemstotheir

prehuman-contactstate.Justtwo

kilometresfromthecity’score,the

225-hectareconservationprojectshel-

tersover 20 animalspeciesthathave

beenreintroducedtothevalleysince

COURTESY OF Zealandia’s 1999 opening. Some,like

NGA

• I TAHU TOURISM

A two-day-oldkiwichickwithmanyofitssilvery

feather sheaths still attached

97

Rare Bird