Kiwi

The BNZ

The Bank of New Zealand is the major sponsor of the Kiwi Encounter facility onsite at Rainbow Springs.

Their programme - BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ is a powerful tool to reverse the decline of key kiwi populations.  Eggs and chicks are harvested from nests to save them from stoats and cats. The young kiwi are returned to the wild when they weigh about 1kg, big enough to fight off these predators. More than 1600 kiwi chicks have been returned to the wild since the programme began in 1994, with captive facilities and hundreds of field workers from DOC and community groups throughout the country contributing to its success. The BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ egg harvesting>chick rearing>return to the wild technique was developed for kiwi through research funded solely by BNZ and is now also used in other species recovery programmes.