gryphonvert
Kiwi! (stuffed)
I couldn't be in NZ and not see a kiwi! But it's very hard to see kiwi. They're rare and nocturnal and very shy. Outside of Rotorua, there's a kiwi rescue center, though, so Tam and I went on the tour. They take you into a dark room with some kiwi enclosures, and in fact you can get really, really close to the kiwi as they poke around the underbrush for food (since they can't fly, the enclosures are just 2-foot walls, and we weren't otherwise blocked off from them). It was awesome!
This is not a live kiwi, you will notice. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside as the flashes freak the kiwis out, so I took this in the informative display area afterwards. That egg there is actual size in comparison to the kiwi it comes out of.
Kiwi! (stuffed)
I couldn't be in NZ and not see a kiwi! But it's very hard to see kiwi. They're rare and nocturnal and very shy. Outside of Rotorua, there's a kiwi rescue center, though, so Tam and I went on the tour. They take you into a dark room with some kiwi enclosures, and in fact you can get really, really close to the kiwi as they poke around the underbrush for food (since they can't fly, the enclosures are just 2-foot walls, and we weren't otherwise blocked off from them). It was awesome!
This is not a live kiwi, you will notice. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside as the flashes freak the kiwis out, so I took this in the informative display area afterwards. That egg there is actual size in comparison to the kiwi it comes out of.