X-ray of Kowhai the Kiwi
Kowhai the Kiwi
By Nyree Taylor
Sadly, early one morning when Whaea Brony was driving to school she found a dead kiwi on the side of the road. She pulled over and picked it up, thinking it would be a good idea to take it into school, but she had to call DOC* on the way because having a kiwi in your possession is illegal, whether it's dead or alive. So, that very day she brought the kiwi into school to show Room 1.
Room 1 was fascinated to see a kiwi up close, but also sad because of the way it had died. It had been hit by a car. Rolf, from DOC, came to our class to talk about how the kiwi are dying out, and what needs to happen to get them to a very comfortable amount of kiwi in the world. There would have to be about a 20% rise in baby kiwi chicks that survive and grow to live a healthy long life in the wild, while under DOC’s care.
After Rolf’s visit, he took Kowhai the Kiwi away to be x-rayed, to see the damage that had been done by the car. Then, he sent the x-ray back to Whaea Brony. It was quite sad to see what had happen to the kiwi, but interesting at the same time (see x-ray above).
After that, Room 1 wanted to help all kiwi, so they decided to take action by writing a letter to the government, making a poster or a new sign to go on the road. Room 1 believes that people see on the news about how kiwi are struggling to survive, but they never actually do anything to protect or help save kiwi. Room 1 also believes that we should take more care around kiwi because they are our country's representatives; and to think that we call ourselves “kiwis”, but really, take a look what we're doing to them. Kiwi used to be able to walk around reasonably safe, and fight off predators when needed. But now, with new/more species of animals, kiwi have twice the amount of predators hunting them and they can't adapt quickly enough to keep themselves safe. They now need our help more than they ever have.
Kowhai the kiwi had been hit by a car, probably while crossing the road. Her injuries included: one of her bones had been completely snapped off where it should have been connected, one completely broken leg and because of that her whole abdomen had swollen up. Luckily, she had no egg. But we don't know whether it was because she had laid the egg already or if she was too young to have laid an egg. She was a completely wild kiwi, hatched and grown up in the bush.
*DOC = Department of
Conservation