Kruisin' Kiwi

No, this is NOT our latest foster bird!
But it is one lucky little Kiwi and a rather relaxed and cruisy little character too.
I've been very lucky too today. I was allowed to tag along a job the hubster had today. Photographing the release of a Kiwi!
It was an amazing experience to see these cuties close-up and then see them go to their new 'home' in the bush.
The Kiwi, our iconic bird, is not a self sustaining species anymore. Without human intervention the Kiwi would dissappear from the surface of the earth very shortly. What happens these days is that Kiwi eggs get collected in the wild, hatched in an incubator and when old enough they get released into a sanctuary where they can learn how to actually survive. When fully grown they get released out of the sanctuary into the real world.
Without these programs, Kiwis would not be here for much longer. In the wild only 5% of Kiwi chicks survive. To be sustainable we need 20% to survive. Easy maths ...
Check out the Kiwi Trust if you're interested.