Prince Harry officially names a Taranaki kiwi

Wednesday, 31 October 2018

Prince Harry named two kiwi, which will eventually live at Purangi, east of Inglewood, in Taranaki.

A kiwi named by a prince will soon take up residency in the back blocks of East Taranaki.

Tihei, from Purangi, east of Inglewood, was officially named by Prince Harry on Wednesday when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle stopped by The National Kiwi Hatchery based at Rainbow Springs Nature Park in Rotorua.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex look at kiwi chicks during their to the National Kiwi Hatchery at Rainbow Springs.

The little bird was unhatched when it was taken to Rainbow Springs on October 1 along with two other eggs and a newly-hatched chick that were found inside the 13,000 hectare reserve.

Once Tihei, from the Māori saying 'tihei mauri ora', the sneeze of life, has reached one kilogramme in weight it will be returned to Purangi.

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In the final day of their trip to New Zealand, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent time in Rotorua where they stopped by the kiwi hatchery to learn about a breeding programme and name Tihei and another young kiwi chick, Koha, a te reo Māori name which translates to gift.

The royal couple, who wed in May and are expecting their first child in the northern spring, have spent five days in New Zealand, as part of their 16-day tour of the South Pacific and Australia.

Hundreds gathered at the park, where the pair arrived not long after 3pm.

Brent Woodhead, of East Taranaki Environment Trust Purangi Kiwi Project, said Tihei was discovered after the tracking transmitters on two kiwi males, Redwood and Trev, went into failure.

They reside in the block along with thousands of other Western North Island Brown Kiwi.

In replacing the transmitters for Redwood and Trev, the three eggs and a week old chick were discovered, Woodhead said.

'When male kiwi sitting on eggs or chicks are disturbed there's a danger they will abandon the burrow.

'This meant the eggs and chick were taken to Rotorua to be cared for by Rainbow Springs Nature Park.'