MIAMI — Zoo Miami has stopped offering its “Kiwi Encounter,” where guests could pet, feed and photograph the rare, flightless bird after viral video on social media sparked outrage over the treatment and handling of the bird named Paora.
Kiwi, an icon of New Zealand and highly regarded in Maori culture, are endemic, meaning they are only found in one place in the world. Their closest relatives are the extinct elephant birds that were native to Madagascar, according to a fact page authored by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation. About 70,000 kiwi are left in the world and 2% of the wild population is lost each year — about 20 every day, the site says.
At Zoo Miami, guests were allowed to encounter Paora once a day, four times a week for about 15 minutes, Ron Magill, a spokesperson for the zoo, said in an email. Paora hatched in May 2019, becoming the first kiwi to ever hatch in Florida.
