In the lead up to the new year, the 2020th kiwi chick has hatched at the National Kiwi Hatchery Aotearoa.
According to Hatchery Manager Emma Bean, 97 kiwis have hatched so far this season with more on their way, making it one of their busiest years yet.
The chick is based at Rainbow Springs in Rotorua and will reside there for the next six months before moving on to Maungataniwha Forest in the Hawke's Bay.
"We think this kiwi chick decided to arrive before New Year’s Eve so he or she had time to fluff up and look their best in preparation for welcoming in the new decade!"
Bean says it is very exciting for her team to have brought in such a large number of kiwis since the hatchery joined the Operation Nest Egg programme in 1995.
The hatchery which is the largest in the country released 145 kiwi chicks back into the forest at the end of the 2018/19 season, a nine per cent increase on the previous season.
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