Kiwi? As In the Fruit?
Posted at 5:05 pm February 26, 2008 by NatalieZoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more information see the Zoo InternQuest Journals. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal.
Once upon a time, you woke up in New Zealand and found that you had become a kiwi, a flightless, chicken-sized bird of the forest floor. Life was going pretty well. You grew up accustomed to the whiskers on your beak and your unique, fur-like feathers. But one morning you heard new sounds coming from a clearing in the forest. Ape-like creatures were establishing a civilization on your doorstep and you wondered to yourself, “Will they be friendly neighbors?”
A dog appeared, and you took off with him at your tail. The ape-like creatures opened boxes and out sprang another new creature, a stoat, similar to a mink. Around you, the stoats devoured your younger kiwi brethren, and the numbers of your kind began to plummet. The end? Scientist Dr. Tom Jensen of the San Diego Zoo’s Reproductive Physiology Department certainly doesn’t think so.
Dr. Jensen is from Denmark and gets pretty excited about kiwi poop. Focusing on the kiwis of New Zealand, he studies wild birds to improve breeding in captivity. 
Studying behavior and hormones found in scat, Dr. Jensen is able to grasp a better understanding on what constricts the reproductive success of kiwis and how to improve it.
Though personable and fun, pets can serve as a potent threat in the wrong situation. Of course your yellow lab showers you with tongues of love and your tabby cat purrs you to sleep at night. The affection and responsibility gained with pets is irreplaceable, but owners should be aware of a pet’s potential to harm wildlife. Whether they hunt native species or extinguish their resources by competition, pets can be a huge threat and have contributed to the endangerment of a number of species. Even dumping your fish bowl in a nearby pond can devastate the ecosystem. We, as people, must make well-informed decisions about our pets in order to prevent disruption and damage to natural habitats and species that have no chance to fly out of the reach of a snoopy dog or a feral cat.
Natalie, The Real World Team
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April 19th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Hi, I work at Kiwi Encounter, Rotorua, and met Tom Jensen last year at a Kiwi Candling Course! I’m going to be in San Diego for the first week of June and was wondering whether I could have a look at the kiwi facility you guys have and learn more about Toms Research! Please could you forward this to Tom, along with my email address? Kind regards, Emma Bean.
Moderator’s note: Will do!