Kiwi

Unusual among kiwi, tokoeka are sometimes active during the daytime. On Rakiura they are often spotted by visitors and can sometimes be seen on the beach foraging for food. Tokoeka protect each other by living in family units, with offspring staying as helpers to their parents for up to seven years, sharing the task of incubating their siblings before they hatch. The combined population numbers for the three tokoeka taxa make it the most numerous kiwi species, with over 30,000 birds in the wild.