Help Save The Kiwi Bird, New Zealand’s Vulnerable Treasure
The kiwi bird needs your help! Sign up for free in under thirty seconds and Old Mout Cider will donate 20p to a kiwi conservation charity!
My road trip around New Zealand is one of my favourite travel memories, but I never saw the famous kiwi bird while I was there. This curious, captivating and quirky bird is, sadly, on the vulnerable list. The population is down from 5 million to roughly 50,000. The little guys can’t fly, so when humans brought cats, stoats and other mammals to the islands around New Zealand, the kiwi birds were unable to escape. Without our help, only 1 in 20 kiwi birds survive to adulthood.
Old Mout Cider, a New Zealand brand, asked me to help them raise awareness of their plan to help save the kiwi bird. By moving kiwi bird eggs to safe islands, we can help the kiwi bird grow, thrive and reproduce. The safe islands are places where kiwis can live without being threatened by other creatures. On these safe islands, 14 out of 20 kiwi birds reach adulthood!
Kapiti Island is one of the safe islands for kiwis. This is an isolated sanctuary, which mirrors the prehistoric conditions for which the kiwi bird is adapted. Watch the video to see what’s being done to save the kiwi.
New Zealand didn’t have many land mammals until humans came
You might be wondering why the kiwi bird needs our help. Let’s be honest, the expression “as dead as a dodo” doesn’t fill us with hope for flightless birds!
But actually, it’s kind our fault that the kiwi bird is in trouble in the first place. New Zealand is a long way away from most other places. Even Australia, which we tend to think of as being right next door to New Zealand, is 1200 miles away. This means that the animals of New Zealand are very different to the ones you’ll find in other places.
Amazingly, New Zealand didn’t have many land mammals until humans arrived, roughly 1000 years ago. They had bats, which obviously were able to fly there, and a handful of marine mammals like seals and dolphins, but otherwise the island was free from furry creatures.
What eats kiwi birds?
The kiwi bird is adapted to thrive in a land without mammals. While most birds can fly to avoid being eaten, the kiwi just waddles. A kiwi bird can run about as fast as a person, but the young and especially the eggs don’t have a good defense mechanism.
When humans arrived, we brought our pets and domesticated animals with us, including cats, dogs and pigs. I love my cat, who’s a completely inept hunter, but I worry even she would be able to catch a bird that can’t fly. Pigs and dogs will eat just about anything, and that includes the eggs of kiwi birds.
As well as domesticated animals, humans also accidentally brought invasive mammals like rats and mice. The government of New Zealand is trying to get rid of their rats, but it’s a difficult battle to win, and in the meantime the kiwi birds need our help.
Signing up takes less than thirty seconds — it’s easy to help save the kiwi! For each sign up Old Mout Cider gets, the company will donate 20p to the charity Kiwis for kiwi. Use this link to sign up and help us save the kiwi!
Advertisement: This post is sponsored by Old Mout Cider. Old Mout Cider was born in New Zealand’s Moutere Valley. As a New Zealand brand, Old Mout is inspired by nature. Their ciders contain no artificial flavours, sweeteners and colours and all of their packaging is recyclable. This year, the company is dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of the kiwi bird. Please drink responsibly (and remember to recycle your bottle afterwards).
