Welcome! New Zealand’s Westshore Wildlife Reserve joins Species360

September 9, 2020
Mary Ellen Amodeo
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Westshores Wildlife Reserve receives chicks hatched in captivity and provides them a protected natural area to grow and learn to forage in the wild.

We are proud to welcome Westshore Wildlife Reserve as a new Species360 member. Located along the eastern coast of New Zealand and run by the city of Napier, the Reserve provides a special facility for rearing kiwi chicks until they are ready to be released into the wild.

A protected tidal estuary, the Westcoast Wildlife Refuge is an important part of New Zealand’s Kiwis for Kiwi initiative to restore populations of the iconic kiwi species.

Working in concert with Kiwis for kiwi, a national partnership focused on protecting and restoring populations of kiwi throughout New Zealand, the Reserve receives chicks hatched in captivity and provides them a protected natural area to grow and learn to forage in the wild. More than 20 outdoor kiwi runs have been built there, to ease some of the pressure across the North Island for safe nursery places.

Kiwi for kiwis began participating in global nonprofit Species360 in 2019. More than 1,200 wildlife institutions in 100 countries curate and share information as part of Species360.