Dear MEL
Topic Readers,
New
Zealand's plan to save the kiwi
Not the
fruit but the bird they are trying to save. Just the size of a chicken, the
kiwi is New Zealand’s proud national icon. This flightless indigenous bird
spices used to be around everywhere in the islands but the estimated population
is now only 68,000. Mainly dogs and stouts in the wild are to blame. Kiwis live
in forests and become active at night. One surprising fact is that a female
kiwi lays an egg which is as heavy as nearly a quarter of her own body weight. That
is the largest egg-to-mother weight ratio among birds.
Now the
government is taking on a new initiative not only to save the bird from going extinct
but also to increase the population to a sustainable level without humans’
intervention. They are trying to roam 100,000 kiwis for the next 15 years, more
than the estimated present population of the bird. Since kiwi are vulnerable to
most wild animals, the success of their attempt seems to lie how they are
protected from their predators.
Enjoy
reading and thinking if roaming increases kiwi population.
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