A chick belonging to New Zealand's rarest species of kiwi has survived the quake, hatching unharmed.
The chick, named Richter, is the first of the season to hatch at the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve near Christchurch Airport.
Richter is one of two rare rowi kiwi that have been on the verge of hatching.
The manager of the reserve's hatching facilities, Corry-Ann Langford, says the eggs were saved from the earthquake by the rubber matting used in the incubators.
That was built up to withstand the following aftershocks.
