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Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
New Zealand chick headed for northern VA!
Posted by:
FUNdamental
()
Date: April 29, 2010 12:19PM
Five North Island brown kiwi are tonight boarding a flight to the US to provide valuable new blood to breeding programmes in America and Europe.
The birds, from Auckland Zoo, were checked by a vet before being boxed in preparation for the big trip.
One pair is bound for San Diego Wild Animal Park, another to Frankfurt Zoo in Germany and a lone female will go to the Smithsonian Conservation Institute in Virginia to join a breeding group there.
The birds, hatched and reared at Auckland Zoo, are expected to contribute valuable new bloodlines to the 16 kiwi in the United States and 22 in Europe.
"This is the first international kiwi transfer from New Zealand in almost 20 years, and we've been working closely with the Department of Conservation (DOC) and our overseas partners to enable it to happen," Auckland Zoo New Zealand fauna curator Ian Fraser says.
"We're delighted that as well as introducing new blood to the northern hemisphere captive population, it's going to help open lines of communication between kiwi conservation projects in New Zealand, and potential North American supporters of these projects."
The birds will fly in the cargo hold for the 12-hour Air New Zealand flight to Los Angeles. They will then be taken to a quarantine facility in San Diego, where they will remain for 30 days before heading to their new homes.
Kathy Brader, the American-European studbook keeper and co-ordinator of the species survival plan for kiwi, will accompany the birds on the flight and is delighted at the acquisition.
"These birds...will enable us to extend the help we can give to New Zealand and this incredibly unique bird," says Brader, who has worked with kiwi for 24 years.
"Interest in kiwi in the United States is huge, and we are very proud ambassadors."
The birds, from Auckland Zoo, were checked by a vet before being boxed in preparation for the big trip.
One pair is bound for San Diego Wild Animal Park, another to Frankfurt Zoo in Germany and a lone female will go to the Smithsonian Conservation Institute in Virginia to join a breeding group there.
The birds, hatched and reared at Auckland Zoo, are expected to contribute valuable new bloodlines to the 16 kiwi in the United States and 22 in Europe.
"This is the first international kiwi transfer from New Zealand in almost 20 years, and we've been working closely with the Department of Conservation (DOC) and our overseas partners to enable it to happen," Auckland Zoo New Zealand fauna curator Ian Fraser says.
"We're delighted that as well as introducing new blood to the northern hemisphere captive population, it's going to help open lines of communication between kiwi conservation projects in New Zealand, and potential North American supporters of these projects."
The birds will fly in the cargo hold for the 12-hour Air New Zealand flight to Los Angeles. They will then be taken to a quarantine facility in San Diego, where they will remain for 30 days before heading to their new homes.
Kathy Brader, the American-European studbook keeper and co-ordinator of the species survival plan for kiwi, will accompany the birds on the flight and is delighted at the acquisition.
"These birds...will enable us to extend the help we can give to New Zealand and this incredibly unique bird," says Brader, who has worked with kiwi for 24 years.
"Interest in kiwi in the United States is huge, and we are very proud ambassadors."