A 13-yr-old male kiwi named Wairuakiwi - which means spirit kiwi - was released into the Rimutaka Forest Park in Wellington earlier this year.
Queenstown Kiwi Birdlife Park senior keeper Nicole Kunzmann received an email to say Wairuakiwi had been found harvesting an egg in the wild.
"It makes us so happy to know our birds can be released into the wild, and do so well," Ms Kunzmann said.
Conservation workers from the Rimutaka Forest Park send Ms Kunzmann regular updates, and last month she received an email to say the male kiwi had settled near two females.
"We are not sure which one is his girlfriend yet, but we should be able to work it out," she said.
Once released into the wild, the kiwis are given a radio-transmitting collar so Rimutaka forest workers can track the birds' progress.
Mr Kunzmann said the kiwi was reported to be inactive, which either signals death or harvesting.
"Thankfully, he was found harvesting an egg, and not the other way round," she said.
The kiwi house in which Wairuakiwi was raised was closed for three weeks before his release so he could be conditioned back to a regular day and night cycle.
