"A pretty sad day for all" is how the manager of Queenstown's Kiwi Birdlife Park described the death of their "miracle" kiwi chick yesterday.
Bridget Baynes, the park's wildlife manager, said it was unclear what caused the death of the brown kiwi chick, born on November 13.
The dead chick will be sent to Massey University for a post-mortem.
On a happier note, the bird's biological parents, 5-year-old father Tamanui and 2-year-old mother Tawahi, delivered another egg on Saturday.
Ms Baynes said the new egg would most likely be fostered by one of the park's older kiwis as the parents were once again using the eggs as a "footrest" and a "pillow".
