BODO'S PORTFOLIO
Life is a one time offer, so use it well.
Kiwi
Diet: Omnivores
Average life span in the wild: 25-50 years
Size: 17.7 inch (45 cm)
Weight: 3.3 kg
The Kiwis population is decreasing by 2% every year due to defenselessness against predators. The Kiwi is a wingless bird native to New Zealand which means that it can’t swim. It is about the size of a domestic chicken, but the Kiwis lay the largest eggs in relation to their body size of any species in the World. The Kiwi is also the national symbol of 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. All species have been negatively affected by historic deforestation but currently the remaining large areas of their forest habitat are well protected in reserves and national parks. At present, the greatest threat to their survival is predation by invasive mammalian predators.
Although it was long presumed that the kiwi was closely related to the other New Zealand ratites, the moa, recent DNA studies have identified its closest relative as the extinct elephant bird of Madagascar, and among extant ratites, the kiwi is more closely related to the emu and the cassowaries than to the moa. Research published in 2013 on an extinct genus, Proapteryx, known from theMiocene deposits of the Saint Bathans Fauna, found that it was smaller and probably capable of flight, supporting the hypothesis that the ancestor of the kiwi reached New Zealand independently from moas, which were already large and flightless by the time kiwis appeared.
Introduced mammalian predators, namely stoats, dogs, ferrets, and cats, are the number one threat to kiwi. Other threats include habitat modification/loss and motor vehicle strike. The restricted distribution and small size of some kiwi populations increases their vulnerability to inbreeding. Stoats are responsible for approximately half of kiwi chick deaths in many areas through New Zealand. Cats also to a lesser extent prey on kiwi chicks. Research has shown that the combined effect of predators and other mortality (accidents etc.) results in less than 5% of kiwi chicks surviving to adulthood. Young kiwi chicks are vulnerable to stoat predation until they reach about 1–1.2 kg in weight, at which time they can usually defend themselves.
The kiwi as a symbol first appeared in the late 19th century in New Zealand regimental badges. It was later featured in the badges of the South Canterbury Battalion in 1886 and the Hastings Rifle Volunteers in 1887. Soon after, the kiwi appeared in many military badges; and in 1906, when Kiwi Shoe Polish was widely sold in the UK and the US, the symbol became more widely known. During the First World War, the name "kiwi" for New Zealand soldiers came into general use, and a giant kiwi (now known as the Bulford kiwi), was carved on the chalk hill above Sling Camp in England. Use has now spread so that now all New Zealanders overseas and at home are commonly referred to as "Kiwis".