WASHINGTON — A newborn and endangered kiwi is under the care of the staff at the National Zoo’s research location in Virginia.
For the first time ever, an egg laid by a female brown kiwi at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, hatched May 10. After the chick hatched, it was moved to an incubator for newborn chicks. It seems to be healthy and doing well, SCBI said in a news release.
The chick is the first for parents Ngati Hine Rua, the female, and Ngati Hine Tahi, the male. Its sex won’t be known for several weeks.
The location, which leads the National Zoo’s research programs, has previously hatched eggs laid at other zoos.
The nocturnal and flightless birds are endangered because of predators introduced to New Zealand, its native country, by humans. Dogs, cats and stoats are some of the kiwi’s biggest threats.
