Endangered Kiwi Hatches at National Zoo

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo showed off the endangered kiwi chick born earlier this month in a video posted on Tuesday, May 31. The chick was the first to hatch at the zoo’s Front Royal, Virginia, facility, emerging on May 10. It will be several weeks before zookeepers know its sex.

The nocturnal kiwi is endangered due to predators introduced to New Zealand by humans, according to the zoo. Kiwi evolved without terrestrial mammal predators, and their biggest threats are dogs, cats and stoats.

The chick’s parents, Ngati Hine Rua and Ngati Hine Tahi, were a gift to the zoo from the government of New Zealand in 2010. It was the first time any kiwi had left New Zealand in 20 years. Credit: YouTube/Smithsonian’s National Zoo