Okarito kiwi

It is found in a restricted area of the Ōkārito forest on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island,[4] and has a population of only about 600 birds.[6] Originally assumed to be the same species as the Southern brown kiwi A. australis, DNA testing shows that the possible split off from this species was 8.2 million years ago, and the split from their closest relatives, the Northern Island brown kiwi A. mantelli was around 6.2 million years ago.[9] The Okarito kiwi is currently classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to habitat loss and predation by introduced stoats.[1] Conservation efforts such as Operation Nest Egg and the stoat control regime have been partially successful in restoring the rowi population.Eggs at risk of predation are removed, the chicks hatched in captivity, raised in a natural predator-free environment until old enough to fend for themselves, and then returned to the wild.
The West Coast Wildlife Centre , at Franz Josef , is part of Project Nest Egg, breeding rowi.
Conservation statusVulnerableIUCN 3.1Scientific classificationEukaryotaAnimaliaChordataPalaeognathaeApterygiformesApterygidaeApteryxBinomial nameSynonymsnew to sciencebrown kiwimorphologicallyŌkāritoWest CoastNew ZealandSouth IslandSouthern brown kiwiA. mantelliratiteostrichcassowarysternumpreen glandpalatebarbulesgizzardpygostyleBlumine IslandFox GlacierWest Coast Wildlife CentreFranz JosefPredationstoatsIUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesWorthy, Trevor H.WikidataThe Marlborough ExpressThe PressGreymouth StarWikispeciesARKiveAvibaseBirdLifeiNaturalistObservation.orgOpen Tree of LifePaleobiology DatabaseXeno-cantoZooBank