The kiwi is New Zealand’s national bird.
For the first time in 50 years, an extremely rare bird has been spotted in the wild on the New Zealand mainland: A female Pukupuku kiwi—also known as the dwarf kiwi or the lesser spotted kiwi—was first spotted by a hunter on the west coast of the South Island, the Pacific nation's Department of Conservation (DOC) announced. Experts are calling it a "miracle."
Scientifically known as Apteryx owenii, this is the smallest and rarest of all kiwi species, previously considered extinct on New Zealand's two main islands. The animal was discovered in the remote Adams Wilderness Area.
It was previously assumed that the flightless bird was otherwise only found on offshore islands and in fenced, predator-free areas. Following the sighting, the agency flew ranger Iain Graham and his trained conservation dog, Brew, to the area to track down the kiwi.
Days of searching in the wilderness"I heard kiwi calls the first night (...) and knew immediately that they didn't sound like other kiwis," Graham said. "It was exciting, but it took a few days to narrow down the area." After days of exploring rough terrain, he finally spotted the bird at night. The expert removed a few tiny feathers from the bird, later confirming that it was indeed a Pukupuku Kiwi.
Emily King, director of the bird conservation organization Kiwi Recovery Group, emphasized that the discovery was nothing short of a miracle. "The last known sighting of a kiwi pukupuku on the mainland occurred in 1978." Despite years of targeted searches, no specimen has ever been seen again—until now.
Kiwis are the smallest ratites in the world and are found only in New Zealand. They are the country's national bird. They are truly unusual animals: They cannot fly, have very poor eyesight, and chronically blocked nostrils. They also smell musty.
Despite, or perhaps because of, its many peculiarities, New Zealanders have taken this eccentric animal to their hearts like no other creature—so much so that the entire nation has named itself after it. Kiwi, the word, has long been synonymous with New Zealand.
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