Kiwis

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   Kiwi

   Scientific name: Apteryx

Description:

Kiwi or kiwis are flightless birds native to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae. At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites (which also consist of ostriches, emus, rheas, and cassowaries), and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world. DNA sequence comparisons have yielded the surprising conclusion that kiwi are much more closely related to the extinct Malagasy elephant birds than to the moa with which they shared New Zealand. There are five recognised species, two of which are currently vulnerable, one of which is endangered, and one of which is critically endangered.

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   Breeding:

   Adult kiwi usually mate for life, and are strongly territorial. Depending on the species, the male kiwi does most of the egg incubation, which is usually one clutch of one egg per year from June to December.
   
   
   
   
   

Chicks hatch fully feathered after a long incubation of 70-85 days, emerge from the nest to feed at about five days old and are never fed by their parents. Juveniles grow slowly, taking three to five years to reach adult size.

Threats to kiwi:

The biggest threat to kiwi chicks is stoats, and to adult kiwi, dogs. Although not the main threat, rats are an issue as well. They compete for food with kiwi, and they are fodder for stoats. When there are lots of rats, there are lots of stoats.
In areas where we do the work to control predators, kiwi numbers are increasing. On the Coromandel, for example, the kiwi population is doubling every decade thanks to intensive predator control.

Other threats include habitat modification/loss and motor vehicle strike, as well as the small population size and distribution of some species. New avian disease and parasites that may reach New Zealand present a further threat to kiwi populations.

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.