The docgovtnz reports that 18 Kakī chicks hatched as part of their conservation breeding program between December 24 and December 28. This is an unusually high number and a boon for the world’s rarest wading bird. The eggs were collected from both wild Kakī pairs and pairs that are part of the conservation breeding program before being artificially incubated at DOC’s Kakī facility in the South Island’s town of Twizel as part of the Kakī Recovery Programme, a rewild partner. The chicks are being hand-reared at the facility before being released into the Mackenzie Basin when they are about nine months old. Kakī have been intensively managed since 1981 when their population declined to a low of just 23 birds. Today there are about 170 adult Kakī in the wild. #TeamRewild #ConservationOptimism (Photo: Liz Brown/New Zealand Department of Conservation)