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Model Rachel Hunter releases a North Island brown kiwi into Hawke's Bay bush - Source: ONE News -
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New Zealand model Rachel Hunter has helped release a young male North Island brown kiwi into thick bush in inland Hawke's Bay.
Takamoana, a one kilogram juvenile male, was the 100th kiwi to be hatched and released into the wild by the Forest Lifeforce Restoration (FLR) Trust.
The trust is into its sixth season using BNZ Operation Nest Egg which sees kiwi eggs rescued from the wild, incubated in a safe environment and the resulting chicks released when they are large enough to defend themselves against stoats.
"Normally we'd expect the rearing and release of this many kiwi to take twice as long," trust executive director Michelle Impey said.
"Its wonderful that some of the chicks released three or four years ago are now breeding themselves - further adding to the population."
Fifty of the Trust's 100 kiwi chicks have been released back into Maungataniwha Native Forest, where the eggs came from, and 50 have been relocated to the Cape Kidnappers and Ocean Beach Preserve.
Hunter, an advocate for conservation projects around the world, was installed as the FLR Trust's patron at this weekend's event.
The kiwi she released was named after an influential local Maori chief in the 1800s.
Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson has applauded the private kiwi breeding project, saying as well as restoring kiwi, the trust is working to control pests and bring back other threatened plants and animals.
She said the work is indicative of co-operation developing all over the country between private land owners and the Department of Conservation.
DOC Conservator for the region Alan McKenzie said privately-funded conservation and regeneration projects were the way of the future. He said while DOC could maintain the status quo, a step-change in the re-establishment of native species requires significant investment that the private sector could deliver.
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