Kiwi's are industrious, resilient, and non-threatening. Exactly what the crown wanted of colonial people.
Definitely jealous of the bald eagle. Makes me sad we don't have the Haast eagle anymore, which would have taken the badass Pepsi challenge with your mountain seagull. Also grateful we don't have them, come to think of it.
Haha, thanks for the shout-out! Just a quick correction - it’s Mohua Golden Bay ☺️ And if you haven’t seen John Oliver taking the Mickey out of our laser kiwi flag design (the only flag we deserve) yet, you’re in for a treat: https://youtu.be/m_2tL--HMIo?si=zFAiD1t1sdQqzDOT That is where I live: in the eye of the laser kiwi!
Fixed, thanks Dr Sea!! I'm embarrassed to have traveled out there a bunch and only now learn the reo name. I'd heard of the flag but hadn't seen that John Oliver, it's so good! Thawnks for sharing. That man loves NZ so much it's adorable. Now please go write a memoir titled IN THE EYE OF THE LASER KIWI
Hah! You may have just given me the perfect name for my unwritten memoir! My husband and I joke that we should set up a green laser on our top paddock just to recreate the best flag design ever 🤣
Ha this is like asking why do we love hokey pokey ice cream! "Born this way!" I think what Max said - that good ol Presbyterian, No.8 wire, just get on with it attitude. We're not loud and showy like a regal eagle. You need to get to Stewart Island and hang with a big brown kiwi in the dawn light. No red torch needed! Oc getting up to close with one is not guaranteed but if you do it's kind of like a religious experience - well for this kiwi seeing a kiwi, it was!
Hi Jane! Yes, hokey pokey is another mystery to me. So sweet it makes my teeth hurt. I would LOVE to get to Stewart Island! I spent a lot of time thinking of this or that part of NZ as the end of the earth but I think Rakiura wins that crown. I'd love to see one there up close. I think a bigger kiwi is also part of the reverence? The pukupuku is a little guy!
No, it's not a size thing. I've seen a few kiwis at Mason Bay, Rakiura. National bird aside, It's more about witnessing a wild animal going about its business while totally ignoring humans. Actually, the first prose poem I got published was about staying in Island Hill homestead at Mason Bay and spotting a kiwi off the veranda. You can rent it! The homestead.
Ok I’ll be the grammar Tesla CEO: The plural of kiwi is kiwi. Great read though, often over the years I’ve heard people ponder why it’s our national bird, when the weka and Kea make more of an impression. Maybe because it’s so rare to see in the wild? Maybe the Kea is a victim of our Tall Poppy syndrome? Once I got to attend a Kiwi Release when a bird gets released into the wild after being reared in safety. That was a curious experience.
The trouble with the bald eagle mascot is how redneck country continues to co-opt it for their purposes - you know, Freedom Isn't Free and all that. But it remains a great symbol. And the Kiwi? Have always liked it, even if it can't fly!
I've only seen kiwi (no 's' in te reo Māori 😉) once - at Wellington Zoo's nocturnal enclosure. Now, however, they're roaming the hills around Karori and are heard and seen every night! That's how AoNZ used to be prior to colonisation.
Highly recommend "Fight for the wild" ( https://www.rnz.co.nz/video/fight-for-the-wild ). The very first episode lays out the sheer devastation, and recovery efforts by science and conservation. It's an insurmountable task but if we do nothing, kiwi and many other manu will be lost to history, like huia.
Damn that whole comparison thing is no help… I mean a kiwi and an eagle have exactly nothing in common. Except that American Eagles are showy loud predators who mostly steal their food from ospreys and brag about it. What does that remind you of?
Kiwi's are industrious, resilient, and non-threatening. Exactly what the crown wanted of colonial people.
Definitely jealous of the bald eagle. Makes me sad we don't have the Haast eagle anymore, which would have taken the badass Pepsi challenge with your mountain seagull. Also grateful we don't have them, come to think of it.
Hi Max! Dead on & brutal. 'She'll be right, she don't need to fly.' So many beautiful birds lost here, it's hard to think about.
Mountain seagull?? Them's fightin' words!!!
Haha, thanks for the shout-out! Just a quick correction - it’s Mohua Golden Bay ☺️ And if you haven’t seen John Oliver taking the Mickey out of our laser kiwi flag design (the only flag we deserve) yet, you’re in for a treat: https://youtu.be/m_2tL--HMIo?si=zFAiD1t1sdQqzDOT That is where I live: in the eye of the laser kiwi!
Fixed, thanks Dr Sea!! I'm embarrassed to have traveled out there a bunch and only now learn the reo name. I'd heard of the flag but hadn't seen that John Oliver, it's so good! Thawnks for sharing. That man loves NZ so much it's adorable. Now please go write a memoir titled IN THE EYE OF THE LASER KIWI
Hah! You may have just given me the perfect name for my unwritten memoir! My husband and I joke that we should set up a green laser on our top paddock just to recreate the best flag design ever 🤣
Well, they never leave New Zealand, unlike people and most other mammals and birds. Never mind that they can’t.
That’s my theory which is mine.
Hi Ed! I like it--they're an adorable captive, of a sorts. Who's more local than the one that can't leave?
Ha this is like asking why do we love hokey pokey ice cream! "Born this way!" I think what Max said - that good ol Presbyterian, No.8 wire, just get on with it attitude. We're not loud and showy like a regal eagle. You need to get to Stewart Island and hang with a big brown kiwi in the dawn light. No red torch needed! Oc getting up to close with one is not guaranteed but if you do it's kind of like a religious experience - well for this kiwi seeing a kiwi, it was!
Hi Jane! Yes, hokey pokey is another mystery to me. So sweet it makes my teeth hurt. I would LOVE to get to Stewart Island! I spent a lot of time thinking of this or that part of NZ as the end of the earth but I think Rakiura wins that crown. I'd love to see one there up close. I think a bigger kiwi is also part of the reverence? The pukupuku is a little guy!
Seen quite a few in the South Arm campground when I was done that way a few years back…chatty little guys
No, it's not a size thing. I've seen a few kiwis at Mason Bay, Rakiura. National bird aside, It's more about witnessing a wild animal going about its business while totally ignoring humans. Actually, the first prose poem I got published was about staying in Island Hill homestead at Mason Bay and spotting a kiwi off the veranda. You can rent it! The homestead.
I’ve never thought of it like that. Thanks! If only the Moa weren’t extinct!
Hi Tim! The moa would definitely be the mascot. What's Japan's animal, do you think? The snow monkey?
Japan’s animal is clearly the Tanuki raccoon dog!
Ok I’ll be the grammar Tesla CEO: The plural of kiwi is kiwi. Great read though, often over the years I’ve heard people ponder why it’s our national bird, when the weka and Kea make more of an impression. Maybe because it’s so rare to see in the wild? Maybe the Kea is a victim of our Tall Poppy syndrome? Once I got to attend a Kiwi Release when a bird gets released into the wild after being reared in safety. That was a curious experience.
Kākā for the win!!
The trouble with the bald eagle mascot is how redneck country continues to co-opt it for their purposes - you know, Freedom Isn't Free and all that. But it remains a great symbol. And the Kiwi? Have always liked it, even if it can't fly!
I've only seen kiwi (no 's' in te reo Māori 😉) once - at Wellington Zoo's nocturnal enclosure. Now, however, they're roaming the hills around Karori and are heard and seen every night! That's how AoNZ used to be prior to colonisation.
Highly recommend "Fight for the wild" ( https://www.rnz.co.nz/video/fight-for-the-wild ). The very first episode lays out the sheer devastation, and recovery efforts by science and conservation. It's an insurmountable task but if we do nothing, kiwi and many other manu will be lost to history, like huia.
Damn that whole comparison thing is no help… I mean a kiwi and an eagle have exactly nothing in common. Except that American Eagles are showy loud predators who mostly steal their food from ospreys and brag about it. What does that remind you of?