DID YOU KNOW? KIWI EGGS ARE GIGANTIC!
Kiwis lay some HUGE eggs, almost as big as the bird that lays them, six times larger than other birds in its size class. This is because Kiwis are actually directly related to ostriches, emus, rhea, and cassowaries, each of which also lays huge eggs.
The kiwi’s egg also clocks in at around 15% of the female’s total body weight, although it has a very thin and frail shell.
Male kiwis will incubate the eggs, between 70 and 90 days.
Unfortunately, only about 5% of kiwi chicks survive in the wild thanks to invasive species such as feral cats, pigs, dogs, stoats, and the bizarre rodent known as the peka.
Unfortunately, only an estimated 70,000 kiwi birds are still left in the wild.
