By This is what a New Zealand Kiwi looks like.
The flightless kiwi is shy and secretive, yet also feisty and territorial. Adults protect their territories by calling to each other, and will also fight off intruders.
They feed on the ground at night, using nostrils at the end of their long beak to help sniff out grubs and worms deep in the leaf litter, as well as berries and fallen fruit.
Kiwi have two layers of feathers - a layer of soft downy feathers for warmth, and an outer layer to keep the rain out.
Female kiwi lay enormous eggs - in fact, they have one of the highest egg-to-body-weight ratios of any bird - an ostrich egg weighs only 2% of the female's body weight, whereas a kiwi egg weighs up to 20%.
Quick Kiwi Facts
An average of 27 kiwi are killed by predators EVERY WEEK. That’s a population decline of around 1,400 kiwi every year (or 2%). At this rate, kiwi may disappear from the mainland in our lifetime. Just one hundred years ago, kiwi numbered in the millions.
A single roaming dog can wipe out an entire kiwi population in a matter of days
Approximately 20% of the kiwi population is under management.
In areas under where predators are controlled, 50-60% of chicks survive. When areas are not under management 95% of kiwi die before reaching breeding age.
Only 20% survival rate of kiwi chicks is needed for the population to increase.
Proof of success – on the Coromandel, in the predator controlled area, the kiwi population is doubling every decade.
Article Ref: Auckland Zoo, https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/?
