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Kiwi chick hatches, explores
I had to share this touching video. I hope those outside New Zealand can view it. Really drives home why New Zealand is pushing to be predator-free by 2050.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-a...ectid=11710149 It's also on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCxa2O6fptE |
Oh Diamantina! That's just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing it with us :)
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How cool is that?
Lee Ann |
It's so cute, isn't it? But the ending is bittersweet, as the kiwi chick and father wander off into an uncertain future.
Glad you both enjoyed it. |
Awwww...
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Diamantina
In you post you mentioned "New Zealand is pushing to be predator-free by 2050". What predators are being eliminated? |
Rats, possums (Australian brushtail possum) and stoats for a start. Because these introduced pests do the greatest damage, preying on native birds, their eggs and chicks, native reptiles, and weta. Rats and possums also eat fruits and plants, which are needed by native animals. The elimination of predators has been on-going, the govt. just stepped up efforts, set a goal, and dedicated more money to it.
The Dept. of Conservation has a page dedicated to this topic, which explains it much better than me: http://www.doc.govt.nz/our-work/pred...-zealand-2050/ Here's a short article about it, as well: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...uced-predators This shows how much damage one stoat can do. Orokonui is a fenced-in predator-free sanctuary in Dunedin. During the bad winter of 2015, a stoat scaled the iced-over pest-free fence. For 10 months, she evaded capture, and even had babies. By the time she was caught, all of the sanctuary's 50 South Island Saddlebacks were dead. I believe this was the only mainland population of South Island Saddleback. The chicks in Orokonui's kiwi creche also had to be removed for their protection because a kiwi chick must weight at least 1 kilogram to defend itself from a stoat. According to DOC: "In most parts of the country, stoats are responsible for approximately half of kiwi chick deaths on the mainland." https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazine/tale-stoat |
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