Survival of the Weak

DOC personnel was very surprised when they found twenty eight Okarito brown kiwi eggs at the Okarito kiwi zone this spring. Last year they collected only three!
The reason that DOC are collecting these eggs is that Okarito brown kiwi (rowi), which is by the way rarest kiwi species in the world, is considered to be almost extinct with only three hundred birds left. So DOC personnel is collecting the eggs to hatch in protected area.
But the fact that more eggs were found this year means that kiwis are breeding increasingly themselves, and this is very encouraging. It may havehappened due to a mild winter.
Rowi breeding season started in late July, and will probably run until January-February, which leaves enough time for more eggs and chicks.
DOC staff were monitoring thirty five new birds that were caught during winter and about seventy pairs now have transmitters. Last year there were only 45 pairs.
The transmitters are attached to the birds legs, and they send out a sequence of 15 distinct sets of beeps. Rangers can detect these signals with the help of special receivers. If the received signal shows that kiwi doesn’t move then it is likely that it had laid an egg and now incubating it.
I really hope that rowi will continue breeding and their numbers will increase with years to come.