ＮＺ初の「キウイ病院」開設

【ウェリントンＡＦＰ＝時事】ニュージーランド北部ケリケリに２３日、同国初となるキウイ専門の動物病院が開設された。（写真は、ニュージーランド・ケリケリのキウイ専門病院で治療を受ける「スプラッシュ」）
　病院は地元自然保護団体「キウイコースト」が設置。自然保護局はＡＦＰに、こうしたキウイ病院は同国初だと話した。
　最大都市オークランドから車で北に３時間の場所にあるケリケリは、約１万羽のブラウンキウイが生息するノースランド地域の中心に位置する。
　ニュージランドに生息する野生のキウイは約２万６０００羽。２００８年から約１０００羽増え、国の「危惧種」指定は解除された。
　キウイコーストのナイレ・サリバン氏は、個体数が増えるにつれ、病気や負傷したキウイのための専門病院が必要になったと語った。
　「車にひかれるキウイもいる。個体数が増えるにつれ、助けを必要とするものも出てくる」とＡＦＰに話した。
　同病院では、２３日の正式オープン前にも急患が運ばれてきた。フェンスをすり抜け、スイミングプールのフィルターボックスに落ちてしまった幼い個体だ。
　瀕死の状態で見つかったこのキウイは「スプラッシュ」と名付けられた。数日治療を受けた後、自然に返された。
　病院はボランティアで運営され、医療設備と「病気が広がらないように」個別に収容できるケージが用意されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/02/26-16:39）

New Zealand on Friday opened its first hospital exclusively treating kiwi birds, and vets have already nursed the first patient back to health -- a chick nicknamed Splash that tumbled into a swimming pool.
Rising numbers of the once-threatened national bird have led to the construction of a purpose-built facility in Kerikeri, a three-hour drive north of Auckland.
The Department of Conservation told AFP the new kiwi hospital is the first of its kind in New Zealand.
The rehabilitation centre, built by local conservation group Kiwi Coast, is in the heart of the Northland region, which has a brown kiwi population of nearly 10,000.
Roughly 26,000 brown kiwi live in the wild across New Zealand -- a thousand more than in 2008, when conservationists classed them Nationally Vulnerable.
The species is now listed as Not Threatened.
The population growth is mostly due to conservation groups culling predators like stoats and ferrets, while dog owners have been offered special courses to teach pets not to attack the flightless bird.
With numbers climbing, Kiwi Coast co-ordinator Ngaire Sullivan said a specialist hospital was needed for sick or injured birds.
Some will be struck by cars -- the more kiwi we have, the more likely that there's going to be the odd one that needs help, she told AFP.
We wanted to make sure stressed kiwi get the care they need.
The centre treated its first patient even before Friday's official opening, when a young kiwi managed to squeeze through a fence and fall into a swimming pool filter
He was discovered, near death, the following morning by a builder working at a nearby site, said Sullivan.
The kiwi, which spent a few days being treated, was named Splash by staff before being released.
He got his nickname as that is how he was discovered -- splashing about in the filter box, said Sullivan.
Kiwi cannot swim very well or climb out of vertical slippery-sided areas.
Before the hospital opened, injured or ill birds had to be driven at least an hour to get treatment.
There were incidents where kiwi didn't survive the journey, which is one of the main reasons we started the centre, Sullivan added.
The hospital, run by volunteers, has veterinary facilities and isolation pens, so we don't spread diseases, Sullivan explained.
Kiwi patients will be treated for up to three months before being returned to the wild.
Sullivan says the hospital is important to keep the kiwi population healthy.
The tide has turned for the brown kiwi, Emily King, a kiwi expert, told AFP.
The Department of Conservation technical adviser said the population growth is a result of successful predator management, but without sustained effort, brown kiwi could easily slide back into a threatened status.