A
KIWI
STORY
THE KIWI
• Endemic to NZ
• Endangered
• 5 species :
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Brown
Great spotted
Little spotted
Rowi
Tokoeka
• Distribution – small population scattered around NZ
Distribution
Small isolated
groups
SOME INTERESTING FACTS
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Nocturnal
Sleep and nest in burrows
Can’t fly – no wing or tail feathers
Long beak, nostrils at tip –eat worms, grubs,
spiders, berries
• Strong legs, big claws
• Whiskers
• Huge eggs – dad sits on the egg
WHY ARE KIWI ENDANGERED?
• Small population size, slow to reproduce, numbers
declining
• At risk from being attacked by predators
(stoats, ferrets, cats, rats*, hedgehogs*, dogs, humans)
because they:
– Can’t fly
– Live/nest on the ground
• Loss of habitat (their home and food supply)
– Chopping down forests/bush for farming, wild pig
grazing, fires
• Death or injury by traps, poisons
HOW DO WE PROTECT THEM?
• Department of Conservation
(DOC)
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Provide a predator-free habitat
Track and monitor birds
Collect eggs and raise chicks in a safe place
Release chicks back into the wild
Mt Ruapehu - Tongariro National Park
TRACKING KIWI
• A transmitter is
attached to kiwis
leg
• The transmitter
makes a sound
that can be heard
on a special radio
• The closer you get
to the bird the
louder the beep
on the radio
Kiwi sleep in
burrows
• To catch a kiwi
you have to
crawl into the
burrow!
Over 70 species of NZ birds are
endangered
Some live right here in Mid Canterbury
Black billed gull
• nests in Ashburton river
Kea
Ski fields – Mt Hutt,
Craigieburn
NZ Falcon
Ashburton
lakes
Vineyards using them
to scare away birds
that eat the grapes
Southern crested grebe
Ashburton lakes
Mackenzie lakes
Black stilt
Mackenzie lakes Twizel
Rifleman – NZ’s smallest bird
What can you do to help?
• Don’t destroy nests or eggs!
• Learn about birds
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Books
Internet
Museum, clubs & societies
Go out into the wild and look for them
• Talk to friends and family about birds and why we
need to look after some of them
• Make a bird feeder or grow plants that attract
birds in your garden
Some common birds