Do kiwi birds have anything to do with kiwi fruit? Do they eat kiwi fruit?
Kiwi birds have nothing to do with kiwi fruit. People in New Zealand are called kiwis, after the kiwi birds, which is a national emblem. When the Chinese gooseberry was grown over here, its name was changed to kiwi fruit to show it came from New Zealand. Kiwi birds eat worms, grubs, and insects on the forest floor; they don’t touch kiwi fruit. Top of Page What endangered animal in New Zealand do you personally care most about? Why? That’s a difficult question! There are a heap of endangered animals in New Zealand and all are important. I do have a soft spot for wekas. Many other conservationists don’t like wekas because they prey on other birds’ eggs, but I find them interesting characters. We breed them for release on islands, and are trying to increase their numbers, as they have almost disappeared in many areas. What did you study in school? How did you become a conservationist? At school I studied science, math, chemistry, and physics, which I found very difficult, but very useful
