Darkstar - the North Island brown kiwi hit by a car near Ngunguru and left with multiple fractures in her foot - is fixed up and raring to be released back into the wild tomorrow.
The kiwi - named Darkstar by children at Ngunguru School - was injured when shewas accidentally run over by Amanda and Roger Jones on May 14. The bird was released at Tutukaka about six months earlier, as part of Operation Nest Egg with support from the Tutukaka Landcare Coalition. At first, the couple thought the kiwi was a possum. After being hit, she ran away and Mr Jones had to chase her to take her to the Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre. Darkstar had multiple fractures two-thirds of the way down the foot from the ankle. She also had chest problems, which stopped one of her lungs inflating fully. The bottom of the leg and most of her foot were fitted with a cast. After two months of TLC at Auckland Zoo, Darkstar is ready to go back into the wild and will again be released on to the property of Tutukaka Landcare Coalition members Mike and Jane Camm tomorrow morning. Children from the school will likely be on hand for the release. Auckland Zoo veterinarian John Potter said the plucky bird was doing well, although the bone had taken longer to heal than expected. "That bird was really lucky to have survived that car crash," Dr Potter said.
Mr Camm said there had been more sightings and near misses in the Ngunguru area and recently released birds could wander for up to 20km until they established a territory.
