A kiwi is facing a long road to recovery after it was rescued from a drain beside a Taranaki road.
The North Island brown kiwi was discovered battered and emaciated at the bottom of the culvert in early August, and Department of Conservation (DoC) workers say the bird is lucky to be alive.
"The culvert was a pretty inhospitable place to be imprisoned," DoC ranger Alison Evans said.
Large trucks travelled at open road speeds only a few metres away from where the bird sat at the bottom of the sump - desperate to escape from its fate, the bird wore its nails down to the bone on both feet scrambling against the metal.
The sickly bird was taken to Massey University's Wildbase Hospital where the extent of its injuries were revealed.
Wildbase Supervisor Technician Pauline Nijman says the kiwi is showing signs of improvement - but he's not out of the woods yet.
"We are happy to report the little superstar is eating well in hospital and after the first week when it was touch and go - he has started to venture around his room, exercise, forage and gain some much-needed weight," she said.
But it's going to be a long journey - it will be several weeks before vets can be sure the kiwi will survive.
