Kiwi Lazarus began life as an egg collected from wild parents that hatched in the care of a wildlife reserve. After a good start, the kiwi had lost 20 per cent of her body weight in a week, so came to Wildbase Hospital for assessment.
This kiwi was part of Operation Nest Egg.
Tests revealed the kiwi was very anaemic and continuing to lose blood through her gastrointestinal tract. She was affected by a few different gastrointestinal parasites that thankfully responded to anti-parasite treatments. However, she was incredibly weak and unable to transport oxygen around her body due to the blood loss.
Oxygen therapy and nutritional support helped, but she wasn’t able to make red cells fast enough. Fortunately, at the same time we had an older North Island Brown Kiwi in Wildbase Hospital that was fully recovered but waiting patiently for his transport home, so he become a life-saving blood donor. The blood transfusion was 3ml of gold for Kiwi Lazarus and was the start of her recovery.
After a long stay recovering in hospital she returned to the wildlife reserve to grow a bit larger and was released back into the wild where she was collected when still in the egg.
Contact Wildbase Hospital
If you find injured or sick native wildlife, contact us for help and advice.