The hospital has a close relationship with the Department of Conservation’s kakapo recovery programme, frequently working together to care for the critically endangered flightless parrot.
In response to a request for support with kakapo management on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, to the west of Rakiura/Stewart Island, Ms Whyte and her partner Martin Junek, both of Dunedin, spent a week there over Christmas.
"After working so closely with the kakapo recovery programme, it was really cool to see some of their fieldwork in action," Ms Whyte said.
She and Mr Junek worked alongside rangers to help with supplementary feeding for the island’s kakapo population.
"Supplementary feeding is done to support the birds during breeding season, so we were tramping across the island to clean and fill the feeding stations.
"It was fascinating to see how closely the kakapo are monitored without disturbing them too much — everything is hands-off as much as possible."
Apart from an annual health check and tracker battery change, the birds are tracked and monitored remotely — leaving them undisturbed.
Almost all of the 202 remaining kakapo live on Whenua Hou or Anchor Island in Dusky Sound, with numbers given a boost in the 2019-20 breeding season.
Ms Whyte said visiting Whenua Hou had been a privilege and a "great experience".
"It was very enjoyable, and incredibly special when I got to see kakapo we were involved in hand-rearing at the wildlife hospital in 2019," she said.
"It was nice to check in with those birds and see how they were doing."
