Since the last of the giant Moa birds were hunted to extinction on these islands, the Weka has believed himself king of New Zealand. His conviction could not be more incongruous, as he is a small flightless rail, thoroughly convinced of his superiority, invulnerability, and entitlement. If you have food, or something shiny and interesting, it was clearly meant for him. When you put your pack down to photograph him, it is only the natural order of things, that you should present your belongings for him to pick out what he likes, while delighting in his appearance.
We fell in love with them instantly. They're everywhere on Kapiti island, the oldest of New Zealand's Predator Free Island Reserves. Every time you turn around there's another of these adorable little birds and their even more adorable offspring. The little black balls of fuzz are almost as bold as their parents, though they lack the experience and height to successfully plunder your bags. Instead, they follow their mother around, nabbing tasty snacks off the ground that she clears for them. We watched incredulously as Mom casually flung aside a meter-long log roughly four times her weight, exposing fat grubs underneath. We glanced back at Dad nervously, wondering if he would decide to take the whole camera bag home as a prize. Fortunately, he found our shoelaces far more interesting.
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