Our patients recover at our centre after treatment at Wildbase Hospital, they change regularly as they recover and are released back into the wild.
Our resident animals are with us all the time so there is always something to see.
Whio are endemic to New Zealand with only around 3,000 left.
Our whio are part of a captive breed for release programme in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Whio Forever.
Whio are at home in mountain areas and need clean, healthy, fast flowing rivers to live in. Loss of habitat and predation are major threats to these native ducks.
Our whio pair are among the rarest seen birds at our centre, as they are most active at dawn and dusk or on rainy days. Whio are a nationally vulnerable species, with fewer than 3,000 remaining in the wild.
In 2021, the whio species coordinator restructured some pairings to boost breeding success across the North Island. As part of this effort, our original female was swapped for her sister from Ngā Manu in May 2021, and our original male was swapped for a whio from Hamilton Zoo in July 2021.
While our current female has previously raised clutches at Ngā Manu, this pairing has not yet bred successfully.
Whio typically nest between August and October, laying 4 - 9 eggs per clutch. Captive whio clutches are hand raised before release to the wild. We continue to monitor their behaviour and provide an environment that supports natural breeding instincts.
