Weka
- Conservation status
- Doing OK
This cheeky character poops its body weight in a day. They are omnivorous, with about 30% of their diet made up of invertebrates and other animals, and the remainder of fruit. This allows them to assist with seed dispersal in the forest margins, particularly helping plants like the hinau, whose fallen fruit is eaten by the flightless birds.
Campaign Manager
Fiona Powell
I’m campaigning again to shine the spotlight on the incredible, yet underrated, flightless weka. Sure, weka can break and enter and then poop when cornered, steal car keys or a roast dinner off the table, but they can also take out rats and disperse native seeds. Weka have it tough as they get mistaken by tourists as kiwi and their other flightless counterparts, like takahē or kākāpō, hog all the limelight. Weka get voted off conservation islands for their naughtiness, and throughout the country all species experience population booms and massive crashes. We ‘wekan’ it’s time to give the weka a break! #VoteWeka as your number one favourite bird.
Photo: media.newzealand.com