After petition
New Zealand’s national bird ‘abused’ – Miami zoo apologizes
The kiwi (also called snipe ostrich) is a flightless bird native only to New Zealand. Above all, it is nocturnal.
© West Coast Wildlife Center/dpa
A kiwi – New Zealand’s nocturnal national bird – is on daylight display at Miami Zoo and has become a selfie attraction. Now the zoo apologizes for it.
The Miami Zoo has removed the close encounters of visitors with a kiwi from the program after outraged reactions in New Zealand. The flightless kiwi (also known as the ostrich) is the national bird of New Zealand. So far, interested parties have been allowed to pet a specimen named Paora in bright light and take selfies with the bird for a fee of around $ 20 (18 euros) at the zoo in the USA, as can be seen on a video distributed on the Internet. However, kiwis are nocturnal.
On Tuesday, angry New Zealanders launched an online petition entitled “Save this abused Kiwi”. Paora was sent to Miami Zoo as an egg in 2019 as part of a loan agreement between the Smithsonian National Zoo and the New Zealand government.
Kiwi ‘displayed like a toy’ in Miami
“He has been domesticated and exposed to bright neon lights four days a week, being touched by dozens of strangers, having his delicate whiskers stroked, laughed at and displayed like a toy,” the petition read. “Kiwis are our precious treasures, not America’s toys.”
The Florida zoo has now apologized “for the stress” caused by the video. The visitor’s encounters with the animal were “not well thought out in hindsight” – especially in view of the national symbolism of this iconic animal, it said in a statement. The zoo thanked the New Zealanders for their “care, love and passion for this remarkable bird”. A special habitat is now being created for Paora to “continue to provide him with the protection he needs while respecting and supporting his natural instincts”.
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Distinctive features of kiwis are their fur-like, delicate feathers, their strong legs with large feet and sharp claws, their stunted wings and long beaks. The New Zealanders proudly regard the eccentric as their symbol. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, kiwis are classified as “Vulnerable”.