Media Releases:Eggs Arrive Safely In Queenstown

Two kiwi eggs were last month transferred from the Haast Tokoeka Sanctuary to an incubation facility at the Kiwi and Birdlife Park in Queenstown as part of the Bank of New Zealand Kiwi Recovery's Operation Nest Egg programme.

West Coast Conservator Mike Slater said DOC rangers Phil Tisch and Tansy Bliss tramped for more than four hours at separate ends of the sanctuary bringing the eggs out of steep forest ready for the three-hour drive to Queenstown.

They were assisted by Matt Wong, the wildlife operations manager of the Kiwi and Birdlife Park, and Casey Wellington from the Bank of New
Zealand in Queenstown.

"It was great to have Matt and Casey working with our rangers on such a difficult task," Mr Slater said. "Bringing the eggs out of such a rugged and remote location is not easy because they must be kept warm for life support and they can't be jostled or jogged around," Mr Slater said.

All went well and the eggs were confirmed to contain healthy embryos by wildlife consultant Martin Bell last night. Mr Bell used a traditional method of shining a bright light through the egg shell, called candling, to reveal the embryo and the network of delicate veins.

The eggs were placed in an incubator in a facility at the park funded by the Youth Hostel Association of New Zealand. Mr Slater said DOC aims to hatch a total of three chicks under the programme, but is only trialling the technique as a standby if a season of unusually high stoat numbers occurs in the Haast Tokoeka Sanctuary.

The Haast Tokoeka Sanctuary covers 11,400ha and is 25kms South of Haast Township in South Westland. The sanctuary is home to an estimated 200-300 tokoeka which are ranked as a nationally critical species. DOC maintains a network of 1486 stoat traps throughout the sanctuary to reduce chick predation to boost the population's breeding success rate.


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