Tragedy has struck the New Zealand zoo: eight highly endangered Rowi Kiwi bird, like the one pictured above, have died this week.
Conservation efforts have been dealt a severe blow, and curators and biologists alike are concerned at how quickly all eight birds perished.
The Kiwi, is a native species of New Zealand and is also its national symbol. They are a flightless bird, like other native species, but one whose numbers are very, very small.
The birds became ill with a respiratory infection, which quickly claimed their lives, notwithstanding the efforts made by the zookeepers and veterinarians.
The Kiwi's destiny is tied to conservation efforts. Only 70,000 of them remain, after decimation from non native species introduced by colonists decades ago. Of the Kiwi species, the Rowi subspecies, the one zookeepers were trying to breed, has extremely low numbers, estimated at less than 400. Of these, nearly 150 were produced through the efforts of conservationists.
Most of the Rowi Kiwis born in captivity do so after intensive programs to increase their numbers prompt scouts to scour the South Island for Kiwi eggs which are then brought to incubators, thereby greatly increasing their chances of hatching. Stoats, rats and ferrets are known to decimate the eggs laid by the Kiwis.
The illness that killed the Kiwis is believed to be a fungal infection which ensued after a gut parasite left the chicks debilitated. The fungus had been inhaled in the conservation habitat, since it is present in bark that is used as a medium for the zoo nests. Usually the bark poses no problems, but in this instance it has turned deadly.
Source : france 24/ 10.1.13
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