It can't even fly. But New Zealanders love it anyway. And that's nearly the whole story there.
What looks like feathers, are actually feathers, only: The bird they belong to, can’t even fly. Its wings are stunted. Nevertheless, New Zealanders are proud of it. Maybe it’s because the nearly 35 centimetre tall on average bird with its grey feather outfit can run fast and has excellent endurance. How the kiwis – as the apteryx is named in New Zealand – came to New Zealand, is not agreed upon by scientists. The nocturnal bird is extremely shy and is only rarely seen in the wild. The heraldic animal of New Zealand is, at the same time, the name-giver of the kiwifruit, which is actually a Chinese gooseberry. It was in New Zealand where it was first cultivated on a large scale outside of Asia. That was in 1904. Its name goes back to an idea from Turners & Growers – known today as T&G Global which BayWa has a majority share in.
