A bird housed at Zoo Miami has made international headlines after media reports revealed possible mistreatment by handlers and visitors.
New Zealanders complained to Zoo Miami and local officials this week with calls and emails over the zoo’s treatment of a member of the country’s native kiwi species. Zoo Miami was offering $25 kiwi encounter sessions, during which guests could stroke the bird’s head while in a fully lit room.
The videos, posted to social media, outraged New Zealanders because the kiwi is a nocturnal bird that detests bright light. Following the reports, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation told national media that it was raising concerns about the kiwi’s treatment to Zoo Miami officials.
Ron Magill, the zoo’s communications director, told the Miami Herald Tuesday evening that he and other zoo officials have been in touch with the conservation department and were pained to have offended the island nation. The kiwi experience, he said, was discontinued “first thing this morning.”
“We owe an apology to the people of New Zealand,” Magill said. “Our words are just that until we can show them...”
The zoo apologized on social media.
“First and foremost, on behalf of everyone at Zoo Miami, please accept our most profound and sincere apology for the stress initiated by a video on social media depicting the handling and housing of “Paora,” the kiwi bird that is presently under our care,” the zoo said in a statement. “The concerns expressed by have been taken very seriously and as result, effective immediately, the Kiwi Encounter will no longer be offered. Though Paora has thrived at Zoo Miami while receiving the best care available,the development of the Kiwi Encounter was, in hindsight, not well conceived with regard to the national symbolism of this iconic animal and what it represents to the people of New Zealand, especially the Maori.”
The zoo, Magill said, didn’t research the kiwi’s needs as much as it should have. The bird will now spend its days in a dark habitat and explore its surroundings at night. Whenever it’s taken out of its home, like for vet visits, lights will be kept as dim as possible.
“The outcome is that this kiwi will become the best cared for kiwi in the entire United States,” Magill said, adding that the bird is in excellent health.
Helen McFarlane, who lives in New Zealand, told the Miami Herald she was shocked to see the kiwi at Zoo Miami on the news. Though the zoo has already made changes, she worries the kiwi could die from being mishandled.
“I believe it should be brought back here where we know how to care for them,” McFarlane said. “They’ve had their chance and it was in my view grossly mistreated.”
For McFarlane, circuses and zoos aren’t appropriate environments for wildlife.
“Its time we thought more about [animals as] our fellow earth dwellers,” McFarlane said. “As I said its not Disneyland- how are they treating other animals there?”
Zoo Miami’s first kiwi, which hatched in 2019, was named Paora after Paora Haitana, a Maori leader dedicated to wildlife conservation. The kiwi egg was loaned to South Florida by the Smithsonian National Zoological Park through a partnership with the New Zealand government.
Haitana, who was at the kiwi’s naming celebration in 2019, told New Zealand outlet RNZ he was concerned over the zoo’s treatment of the national bird.
“It’s our signature,” Haitana said. “We’re known as the kiwi, so it goes against everything the bird was given to them for.”
The kiwi, native to New Zealand, is an unusual bird. It can’t fly and has hair-like feathers and a long, skinny beak. It’s an icon of the island nation, a national treasure to the country and its indigenous Maori people, according to New Zealand’s Department of Conservation.
Kiwi even remain New Zealand’s property while abroad.
“Kiwi are a significant national icon, equally cherished by all cultures in New Zealand,” the department’s website said. “Kiwi are a symbol for the uniqueness of New Zealand wildlife and the value of our natural heritage.”
Like many other animals on the island, the birds sleep most of the day and come out when it’s dark, according to advocate group Save the Kiwi. It even has adaptations that allow it to flourish in the dark, with cat-like whiskers that allow it to feel around as it navigates under low light conditions.
