Kiwi

65% of Brown Kiwi chicks that survive to hatch are killed by stoats and a further 30% by other predators including ferrets according to The Department of Conservation.

It was thought until 1995 that we had 3 species of Kiwi being, The Great Spotted, Little Spotted and Brown. It is now established that we also have the Rowi, Haast Tokoeka, Northern Fiordland Tokoeka, Southern Fiordland Tokoeka and the Stewart Island Tokoeka. That's likely to offer new conservation challenges to establish numbers, monitor populations and protect.

The Kiwi is the only bird to have nostrils at the end of it's beak which it uses to find food detected by smell alone, unusual for a bird. The Kiwi's leg bones are full of marrow and this too is unusual for a bird. Most bird's legs are filled with hollow honeycomb segments to minimise weight for flight.