Concerned an unborn kiwi chick may have been abandoned by its parents, a Department of Conservation ranger sprang into action to help deliver the late-season kiwi egg.

The ranger found the egg in the Tongariro Forest last week while changing a transmitter on its dad, a male kiwi living in the area.

Ngahuru at day 5 health check-up. Photos: Supplied.

A newly hatched Ngahuru.

The parental figure had been dubbed Max and has already hatched 32 eggs but the ranger was worried he wasn't going to return to care for his latest offspring.

This fear prompted the ranger to take the egg to Rainbow Springs for incubation and hatching.

'Sometimes when a kiwi is scared it won't return to incubate the egg, so the best option in this instance was to bring the egg to Kiwi Encounter to hatch,” says Rainbow Springs' Kiwi Encounter husbandry manager Claire Travers.

The plan is to release the chick back into the wild once it reaches 1kg in weight and has a better chance of surviving.

The hatching season for kiwi began in early September, meaning this latest addition is a late-comer.

'As always it's been a very rewarding season, the Kiwi Encounter team never tires from nurturing these precious birds and helping ensure that they have a strong start in life so they can survive in the wild,” says Claire.