Prize is Caesar\u2019s father, but the chick has escaped the over-zealous grooming but still got the name.<\/p>\n
Cape Sanctuary is New Zealand\u2019s largest predator-fenced, privately owned and funded wildlife sanctuary. Andy and Liz Lowe and Julian Robertson founded it in 2006 and it operates in partnership with Ng\u0101ti Mihiroa.<\/p>\n
National charity Save the Kiwi operates Kiwi Burrow.<\/p>\n
The Waikato Herald was given a behind-the-scenes look at the Gallagher Kiwi Burrow at Wairakei Golf & Sanctuary as the facility began its seventh breeding season.<\/p>\n
For the facility\u2019s keepers, the journey from egg to kiwi starts well before the first crack appears in the shell.<\/p>\n
They check and measure eggs before putting them in an incubator that automatically rotates them. This mimmicks the movement of an incubating male kiwi.<\/p>\n
Keepers also candle the eggs, which involves shining a light through the shell to see the developing chick inside.<\/p>\n
Gallagher Kiwi Burrow team members Helen McCormick (left) and Kim McGuire with a kiwi plushie at Wairakei Golf & Sanctuary in Taup\u014d. Photo \/ Tom Eley<\/p>\n
The eggs are one of the most fascinating parts of the job for Save the Kiwi\u2019s senior kiwi keeper Kim McGuire and husbandry manager Helen McCormick.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people probably think the birds and chicks are our favourite part, but I think for both Helen and I, it\u2019s the eggs,\u201d McGuire said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have this thing that is just, add a bit of heat and they totally develop into those chicks.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n
As hatching approaches, the keepers watch closely for the chick\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
A kiwi egg at the Gallagher Kiwi Burrow in Taup\u014d. Photo \/ Tom Eley<\/p>\n
At one end of the egg is an air cell, a pocket of air separated from the rest of the egg by a membrane.<\/p>\n
The chick needs to get its bill towards the air cell so it can begin breathing.<\/p>\n
If it is facing the wrong way, it can struggle to hatch and keepers may need to intervene.<\/p>\n
The best hatches were the ones where keepers did not have to intervene, McGuire said.<\/p>\n
Once the chicks are out, staff weigh and check them daily. The yolk absorbed before hatching provides nourishment while they learn to feed themselves.<\/p>\n
Keepers did not immediately know whether a chick was male or female, McCormick said.<\/p>\n
Feathers are collected while the birds are at the Burrow and sent away for sex testing.<\/p>\n
Kiwi feathers at the Gallagher Kiwi Burrow in Taup\u014d. Photo \/ Tom Eley<\/p>\n
After about three to four weeks, the chicks leave the Burrow for a kiwi cr\u00e8che or predator-controlled sanctuary.<\/p>\n
There they continue growing towards about 1kg, known as the \u201cstoat-proof weight\u201d, when they have a much better chance of surviving introduced predators.<\/p>\n
Wairakei Golf & Sanctuary general manager operations Warren Collett said about six or seven kiwi were currently roaming the property, although a couple had lost their transmitters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re roaming around out there having a ball,\u201d Collett said.<\/p>\n
A part-time ranger checks the sanctuary\u2019s external predator fence, while about 250 traps are maintained across the property. <\/p>\n
The Gallagher Kiwi Burrow has hatched more than 450 kiwi since opening in October 2019, with eggs arriving from conservation projects throughout the North Island.<\/p>\n
Caesar is carefully checked by staff at the Gallagher Kiwi Burrow in Taup\u014d. Photo \/ Tom Eley<\/p>\n
Keepers avoid treating them like pets, despite spending weeks caring for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are wild animals and we don\u2019t cuddle them,\u201d McGuire said.<\/p>\n
Some chicks quietly tolerate their daily checks. Others are more vocal.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome can be very, very vocal,\u201d McGuire said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey really tell us what they think of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caesar still has plenty of growing to do. At his latest weigh-in, he tipped the scales at just 300g.<\/p>\n
For now, the young kiwi remains under the watchful eyes of his keepers, who weigh him, check his progress and make sure he is growing as he should.<\/p>\n
If all goes to plan, he will leave Taup\u014d and take his place in the forest.<\/p>\n
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before he joined the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive. He previously worked as a journalist at Black Press Media in Canada and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prize is Caesar\u2019s father, but the chick has escaped the over-zealous grooming but still got the name. Cape…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1975,299899,121220,90702,61694,305,10749,194,807,7494,13617,111,139,69,25073,72322,147,299898,223,406],"class_list":["post-608563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-at","tag-burrow","tag-caesar","tag-gallagher","tag-hatches","tag-have","tag-impressive","tag-kiwi","tag-kiwis","tag-less","tag-name","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-origins","tag-regal","tag-science","tag-taups","tag-the","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}