Whats happening
Kiwi Darkstar casts off injury to return to the wild
15 July 2010
Darkstar, a young kiwi accidentally hit by a car in Northland in early May, leaves Auckland Zoo for her forest home on the Tutukaka Coast today, following two months of successful treatment in a cast for a badly fractured foot.
A Bank of New Zealand
Operation Nest Egg (O.N.E.) kiwi, Darkstar was hatched at the Zoo
in September 2007 and then released onto kiwi crèche Motuora
Island. Last October Department of Conservation (DOC) staff
relocated her with eight other O.N.E. kiwi to the Tutakaka Landcare
Coalition conservation area. In late April, the adventurous bird
travelled 7km southeast of landowner Mike Camm's property - where
she encountered a main road and was subsequently hit.
Thanks to the quick-thinking action of locals, Amanda and Roger
Jones, who chased and caught her after hitting her and then drove
her to the Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre, Darkstar's life
was saved.
The Zoo's New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine vet, Dr John Potter, says Darkstar's foot is completely healed and she's now fully weight bearing. Having eaten well during her stay, at just under 2kg, she's also very healthy and strong.
"The
muscles in her foot will need to build up again, and she'll have a
bit of a limp for a couple of months. However, judging by the speed
she moved at when we placed her in one of our outside yards last
Thursday after removing her cast, I think we can safely say, she'll
cope very well," says Dr Potter.
DOC kiwi ranger, Pete Graham, says Amanda and Roger Jones, who
initially thought they had a hit a possum, did exactly the right
things on the evening of the accident.
"For anyone who thinks they've hit a kiwi, the best thing to do is
to stop the car and get out and check. Please don't reverse back as
you may hit it. If it's injured, put it somewhere warm and quiet,
then get in touch with DOC, a vet, or your local bird recovery
centre. Even if the kiwi doesn't survive, please do let us know,"
says Mr Graham.
Mr Graham advises motorists to be on the lookout for kiwi signs on the road, and drive carefully through kiwi areas, especially at night, and says it's worth remembering, if you see something on the road, it's not necessarily a possum.
Prior to her release, Darkstar will be fitted with a radio transmitter that will enable both DOC and landowner Mike Camm to follow her closely over the coming months.
Bank of New Zealand Save the Kiwi Trust executive director Michelle Impey, says given the right conditions, kiwi can live over 50 years, and produce about 100 eggs.
"While Darkstar has been injured, she's still young and healthy and in a pest-free environment thanks to the work of the Tutukaka Landcare Coalition, so she could go on to make a valuable contribution to the North Island brown kiwi population," says Ms Impey.