Nosy young kiwi misses 'social distancing' memo, wanders through ranger's home in broad daylight

April 9, 2020

One particular Kiwi flouting the lockdown orders is more likely to get away with it than most, because it's a kiwi of the feathered variety.

A nosy young kiwi was filmed wandering through a ranger's home at Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island Nature Reserve, the Department of Conservation said today.

It was drizzling during the day when the kiwi knocked on a glass door with its beak, before it busted in through a partially-open ranch slider.

The normally nocturnal bird wandered through the property during its adventure, checking out the dining room and kitchen before heading back to the forest.

"But not before it had passed within centimetres of the rangers’ feet, breaking the 2 metre social distancing rules required to reduce the spread of Covid-19. We’ll give it the benefit of the doubt!" the Department of Conservation says.

Resident rangers Richard Walle, ecologist Dr Leigh Joyce live on-site with their two children, Mahina and Liam.

While kiwi are usually nocturnal, they're not concerned by the bird's jaunt during the middle of the day.

"The behaviour of the young kiwi suggests that it did not feel threatened by humans - we were just part of the scenery, no different from any other species on the island," Dr Joyce says.

"It’s an amazing experience to feel part of nature rather than separated from it, and Hauturu emphasises the importance of predator-free sanctuaries."

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