And for good reason. The kiwi is New Zealand's national bird. Like the bald eagle in the USA, wild kiwis were driven almost to extinction. But this unusual bird has made a bit of a comeback in recent years, thanks to tremendous efforts made by conservationists in restoring the kiwi population in the wild.
Mike, our Kiwi friend from Tauranga (we'll meet him shortly), suggested I visit the kiwi encounter center in Rotorua to learn more. He told me how pleased and touched he was to see the whole-hearted efforts the government, private sector and many individual citizens have made to protect their national icon.
Rainbow Springs Nature Park is located just ten minutes north of central Rotorua. It houses the Kiwi Encounter, open to the public since 2004, and one of the largest kiwi recovery programs in all of NZ.
My trip to Kiwi Encounter was one of the highlights of my entire New Zealand trip. I learned a ton about the birds from the super knowledgeable staff at the center. This science mind couldn't get enough!
Let me share a few amazing kiwi facts:
* Kiwis are more like mammals, and less like birds:
- their body temperature is similar to humans, 2-4 degrees cooler than most other birds
- kiwis have marrow in their bones, while most birds have air pockets
- kiwis have only nubs for wings, and never even attempt to fly
- kiwis have excellent smell and hearing, more like dogs
- despite being a nocturnal animal, kiwis have very poor eyesight
- the kiwi beak is more cumbersome than defensive (kiwis can only kick predators with their enormous feet).
* Equality of the sexes?:
- both genders work hard to produce a viable chick
- all parental care occurs before the chick is hatched
- chicks are independent from the start- they hop out of the nest fully-feathered at 5 days old, and learn to feed themselves
- the poooooooor female kiwi carries around an ENORMOUS egg for 30 days (six times the normal egg size for a bird the kiwi's size)
- once laid, the female takes off
- though in some species incubation is shared by the parents, more commonly the poooooooor male sits on the egg for almost 80 days, until it's hatched.
* Kiwis are defenseless by nature. They evolved over millennia without any natural predators (NZ was largely free of mammals until humans arrived 800 years ago). They have poor eyesight, can't fly, and reproduce slowly. And they are solitary, easily picked off one by one in the wild. A human, cat, dog or stoat can easily attack and kill an adult kiwi. Recently, a single wild dog that got loose in one of the breeding areas killed some 500 adult kiwis in the wild, nearly decimating the local kiwi population.
If you're interested in more nitty-gritty about these amazing birds, see the links at the bottom of this post.
While conservators at the Kiwi center want visitors to learn everything they can about NZ's famous icon, there are clear rules about contact with kiwis at the facility. We could look, but not touch. So I was thrilled when our guide took me by the wrist and slowly placed my hand, palm down, into the enclosure.
"Just keep still. He'll smell you."
And sure enough, one of the kiwis, who was named "Forest," (as in "run Forest, run!") quickly picked up my scent and came snuffling over to "encounter" me. He sniffed and patted me lightly with his beak. He was probably hoping for a juicy worm! But to his great disappointment, he learned I was just a boring old human, and he soon moved on to more interesting things.
Related links for more information on the kiwi:
Click here for more on the kiwi's fascinating life cycle.
If you'd like to learn more about NZ's national kiwi recovery program:
Bank of New Zealand Operation Nest Egg
No comments:
Post a Comment