Tracking Wild Kiwi Birds in New Zealand

In exchange for a donation to WWF New Zealand, you are taken out in search of native Kiwi birds – a wonderful nocturnal experience that most New Zealanders don’t even get the opportunity for.

The kiwi is New Zealand’s most iconic native species.
The small, flightless birds adorn everything from New Zealand’s one dollar coin to it’s Air Force. But they need your help.

Kiwi are a family of birds endemic to New Zealand. There are five species of kiwi: Great Spotted, Okarito Brown (Rowi), Tokoeka, Little Spotted and North Island Brown.

Almost everything about them is unique. Over millions of years, kiwi adapted to live in an environment unlike anywhere else on Earth, free from the threats of mammals. It’s pretty safe to say the kiwi is a biological oddity.

All species of kiwi are threatened, the rarest of these is Rowi, a species found only in a small area of the South Island which number less than 400 individuals.

A life spent on the ground carries with it many risks, and the characteristics that make our kiwi unique have also put it in danger of extinction. As many as 95% of kiwi chicks born outside of pest controlled areas do not survive past six months. The biggest threats to kiwi are introduced predators such as dogs and stoats, loss of habitat, and us.

Your donation helps create more predator free reserves where kiwi can thrive – you help secure the future of this most iconic of species.