The rehabilitation center, built by local conservation group Kiwi Coast, is located in Kerikeri, 240 kilometers north of Auckland, in the heart of the Northland region, where the northern kiwi population is nearly 10,000 individuals.
Even before the official opening, the hospital has already helped its first patient - Splash, a chick that fell into the filter in the pool. After a short stay at the center and recovery, he returned to his natural habitat.
There are now about 26,000 representatives of the species in the wild throughout New Zealand, a thousand more than in 2008, when kiwis were considered “at risk of extinction.”
The population increase is the result of eliminating predators such as rats and ferrets and educating dog owners so that their pets do not attack these creatures.
Until now, injured kiwis have had to be transported to another facility, a rather long trip that could further stress them.
“There have been cases where the kiwis did not survive the trip, which is one of the main reasons we launched the center,” says Ngaire Sullivan, coordinator of Kiwi Coast.
