'Fantastic' encounter elicits kiwi creche praise

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage says a "fantastic" encounter with the country's rarest kiwi species yesterday has highlighted the value of the Orokonui Ecosanctuary's kiwi creche.

This creche has successfully hosted 53 of the rare Haast tokoeka chicks since 2015.

Only about 500 Haast tokoeka have survived in the wild, and the ecosanctuary had earlier been asked to help by the Department of Conservation and Te Runaka o Makaawhio, a council representing a sub-tribal group in South Westland.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage enjoys a close encounter with a native prickly stick insect. PHOTOS: PETER MCINTOSH

Ms Sage and fellow Green MP Golriz Ghahraman are visiting Dunedin to attend the Green Party's annual meeting this weekend, and yesterday they visited a Haast tokoeka chick named Kaha, at the ecosanctuary's 14ha kiwi creche.

This creche is part of a wider collaborative Doc "Operation Nest Egg" programme to nurture kiwi from the egg to later release into the wild.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage meets a rare Haast tokoeka with Orokonui Ecosanctuary conservation manager Elton Smith and fellow Green MP Golriz Ghahraman. PHOTOS: PETER MCINTOSH

Kaha had been weaned off his earlier supplementary food diet, had put on weight and was due to head to Rona Island, in Lake Manapouri, within a few days, ecosanctuary ranger Kelly Gough said.

"I'm really impressed by what Orokonui is doing," Ms Sage said yesterday.

Orokonui clearly played a key educational role, but the success of its kiwi creche also highlighted the ecosanctuary's wider importance in helping protect New Zealand's rarest kiwi species, she said.