[TOUR GUIDE]   At the Otrohonga Kiwihouse, the conservation team has been conserving Kiwi and other NZ natives since 1971. Visit and learn about our active brown kiwi breeding program in the heart of the North Island. They are a ‘non-profit’ charity dedicated to the conservation of New Zealand’s native wildlife through education, research, display, and breeding programs. They welcome visitors to our park as their visit helps us care for our animals. The world-famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Black Water Rafting, and caving adventures are a 15-minute drive south and it’s just 2 minutes to Otorohanga’s main street. This is another place that FireTheLier and I went to, especially for his late birthday last year which his birthday was 7 November yet we decided to go later on. If you want to see this video before I share more about this trip in detail about it – Click here   They’re 2 hours south of Auckland, 1 hour from the Hobbiton Movie Set, and 1.5 hours from Rotorua and Taupo.   TABLE OF CONTENTS KIWI KIWI DIET 5 SPECIES HOUSED QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE KIWIS MEET THE STARS MEET THE OTHER ANIMALS THEY HOUSE   Kiwi Conservation At The Otorohanga Kiwi House     The kiwi is New Zealand’s iconic national bird and an important part of our unique natural heritage. They are feisty, intelligent, and inquisitive birds which is why New Zealanders like to call themselves ‘Kiwis’. Part of the ratite whānau Kiwi is part of a group of large flightless birds known as ratites. Ostriches, emu, and the extinct moa are also part of this group. At the Otrohonga Kiwihouse, they house and hold over twenty brown kiwis on-site as part of a nationwide captive breeding program for brown kiwis. They are also a pre-release conditioning site for brown kiwis preparing to be released into the wild. They currently hold Northland, western and eastern provenance brown kiwi.                   When their kiwi is younger, they will display them in specially designed nocturnal enclosures where the day and night cycles have been reversed.   Visitors to the park can see these young kiwis during the day carrying out their normal kiwi behaviour such as probing for insects and earthworms in the soil, bathing in the ponds, and digging burrows or climbing logs.   The enclosures have native plants, leaf litter, soil, and logs that host a wide range of invertebrates and fruits that make up the majority of the kiwi diet. We also offer kiwi a specially prepared artificial diet to supplement the live food which enables us to feed kiwi if they are in transit or for some reason needed to be cared for in another setting. This also helps keep kiwi in excellent body condition during breeding. The breeding-age kiwi is in large off-display enclosures nearby, where they are free to raise their chicks. Once kiwi have been bred to capture their genetic material in the breeding program they are released into predator-controlled habitats to increase the number and genetic diversity of kiwi in the wild.   They have been conserving and breeding Kiwi since 1971 and were the first Kiwi House in New Zealand to display and breed kiwi and artificially incubate kiwi in captivity for release back to the wild. We have bred three species of kiwi on site; Brown Kiwi, Great Spotted Kiwi, and Little Spotted Kiwi. To date, we have successfully hatched over 160 kiwi chicks and released these into the wild. We are also involved in carrying out research that will assist kiwi survival in the wild and best practices in kiwi husbandry. Kiwi diet A little bit of everything Because kiwi live in such diverse habitats from mountain slopes to exotic pine forests, it can be difficult to define a typical kiwi diet. Most of their food is made up of invertebrates, and a favourite is native worms which can grow to more than 0.5 meters. Luckily for kiwi, New Zealand is rich in worms with 178 native and 14 exotic species to choose from. Kiwi also eats berries, seeds, and some leaves including totara, hinau, miro, and various coprosma and hebe. The kiwi’s breeding success is closely related to its diet. The birds need to build up large reserves to get through the breeding season so if the season has been particularly hard due to drought or flooding, their breeding season may not be as good as usual. Some unusual foods Brown kiwi has been known to eat bracket fungi and frogs, and capture and eat freshwater crayfish/koura. In captivity, kiwi have even fished eels/tuna out of a pond, subdued them with a few whacks, and eaten them. Quenching their thirst Kiwis can get all the water they need from their food. In fact, juicy earthworms are 85% water! This adaptation means they can live in particularly dry places such as Kapiti Island. Being nocturnal also helps because they don’t get hot, bothered, and dried out by the sun. When it does drink, a kiwi immerses its beak, tips back its head, and gurgles down the water.   The kiwis they house and conserve have plenty of natural food sources inside their enclosures. They probe in the soil and leaf litter for insects, worms, spiders, and native berries. New leaf litter is brought into enclosures from forested areas each fortnight containing seasonal insects and berries that help to create variety in the kiwi diet. Logs filled with insect life are also brought in for the kiwi to rip into and explore. Their favorite berries at present are Coprosma robusta berries which are high in caffeine – no wonder they are very active kiwis! We supplement the kiwi’s daily diet with an artificial diet fed out to all kiwi in captivity. It is made with minced beef (steak and ox heart), peas and corn, apples, pears and bananas, currants, a specific design of cat biscuits, wheatgerm, insect powder, CaCo3, corn, and canola oil, and a