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- Great Spotted Kiwi
Great Spotted Kiwi
Apterygiformes Apterygidae
Apteryx Haastii
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The Great Spotted Kiwi doesn't fly. People say that the Kiwi has no natural enemies. However, they are attacked by cats and rats. People brought the cats and the rats, and now the Great Spotted Kiwi is disappearing.
Total length: 50-60cm
Weight: 1215-3270g
(Source: Shinsekai Zetsumetsukiki Doubutsu Zukan* (Library Edition) Gakken) (*Illustrated Encyclopedia of New World Endangered Animals)
The Great Spotted Kiwi lives in the forests and mountains of New Zealand.
Great Spotted Kiwis eat worms, grubs and fruits. They have very good noses that can smell worms and other prey under the soil.
The Great Spotted Kiwi is the largest of all kiwis. Great Spotted Kiwis also have very large eggs, and the male and female take turns hatching the eggs.
Find out more about the Great Spotted Kiwi!
The bird that stopped flying
The Great Spotted Kiwi cannot fly. Instead, it is able to run very quickly – what a strange bird! The Kiwi became flightless: because maybe it had no natural enemies, so there was no need for it to fly like other birds.
Natural enemies: cats and rats...
Before long, lots of people came to live in the Great Spotted Kiwi's homeland of New Zealand. Soon after, the number of Kiwi quickly disappeared. Cats and rats that people brought to the island were attacking them. There are many situations like this where animals brought by people have made trouble for the animals that live there.
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