Chloe and Joey walked for miles until they needed a rest. They were now feeling very alone. Chloe took a deep breath and sat very quietly. The aromas of the forest were like nothing she had ever smelled before. She wasn’t used to being in the wild. Henry had told them that kiwis came out mainly at night, so they would have to wait and be very quiet. It was already sunset. They waited and waited, then fell asleep for a quick nap.
Suddenly they both heard a snuffling noise and opened their eyes. Even though it was night the full moon shone down on a little clearing and there was kiwi, wearing a magnificent jacket of fluffy pinkish-brown feathers and a very long pointy bill.
Joey and Chloe sat up. “Wow! We’ve finally found a kiwi! I wonder if this one can help us?” they thought. Fascinated they watched for several minutes. Then Joey started making funny little coughing sounds: “uch, uch, uch, uch”.
The kiwi stopped and looked in their direction “Who is that?”
Joey said “It’s me, Joey, a kangaroo from Australia. I have come to seek your advice. Please will you help us?”
The kiwi looked at the little girl – “I’m Chloe. I’ve come to help Joey, my friend, and all his family. Will you help?”
The kiwi said “Help you? How can we help you? We’re in grave danger ourselves.
If we don’t know the solution to our problem, how can we help you with yours?” Chloe replied “May I call you Mr Kiwi?”
The kiwi replied “My name is Kiwi, with a capital K. Only very wise kiwis can call themselves Kiwi, the rest are just kiwi with a small ‘k.’ It takes a lot of time alone in the forest, listening to the Earth and watching the stars in the sky to know the secrets they hold. Young kiwis who run around all day only thinking about what to eat and not paying attention to the deeper mysteries around us do not have that wisdom.”
“Okay, Kiwi, we will call you Kiwi and not kiwi,” Chloe said in her most respectful voice.
“Kiwi we would like to know how you got enough interest from people in New Zealand to help save you. We need to make people in Australia care about kangaroos as much as people in New Zealand care about kiwis.”
Joey told Kiwi about how for years his family had been running out of safe places to live. Shopping centres and roads were springing up all over the place. There was no way they could get to any nearby bush without being killed by cars or stray dogs. It seemed that no-one ever thought about the kangaroos and what would happen to them.
“Oh dear,” Kiwi said. “This is a very serious problem that seems to be happening all around the world these days. It’s happening to us and it’s happening to the kangaroos. Trees are being chopped down every day to make way for concrete buildings. It is just not going to work! At the rate humans are going, there won’t be any animals left. People need to think about this.”
“Animals need trees for shade and for their homes. They also need clean water to drink, but people are poisoning our water, ground and air with chemicals and it is killing us!” cried Kiwi.
“All we ask is for people to pay attention to our needs - our need for a safe place to live with our families, land for food and shelter, trees, clean water, soil and air,” added Kiwi.
“Why? Because we have feelings just like people do. We want to be happy! We like to play. We love our families. We are very scared to die. We are sad and angry when one of our family members is killed. Just because we don’t speak human language does not mean we cannot feel. We want people to start thinking and caring about animals more. It’s just not fair to be ignored, it is not right!”
Kiwi was very indignant, and rightly so. “It is very important that you give this message to everybody you meet. That is how you can get people in Australia interested in protecting kangaroos.”
Chloe lit up “Oh you mean the reporters who write stories in the newspapers and for TV?”
Kiwi nodded “Yes, definitely and also talk to people in the street, your friends and relatives. That is the most powerful way you can help, by changing the way people see animals. When people look at an animal they only see something to eat, a pet for their children, or something that is a nuisance because it jumps in front of their car, carries disease, eats food they don’t want it to eat or gets caught in their fence. But they need to look at animals as beings who have feelings. If they would just ask themselves ‘How would I feel if I were that animal right now?’ they would care much more I’m sure.”
Kiwi looked into Chloe’s eyes. “And especially tell them to stop killing animals. Animals are afraid to be killed just like you humans are afraid to be killed. It’s about the worst thing that can happen to anyone, especially if you are healthy, strong and have a family you need to take care of. If only people understood.”
Joey spoke up “You are right Kiwi. When my mother died my world stopped. My mum was the most important thing to me. We used to cuddle and hug each other all the time. And now she is gone ….my heart is broken.”
Kiwi agreed “If only people hadn’t waited so long to start helping us. Now we are becoming weaker and sicker as a species and we may not survive. Every year thousands of kiwis die. Our populations are not growing. It’s only a matter of time before there will be only one last kiwi left. They started caring about us too late!” Kiwi’s voice was cracking as he remembered all his relatives who were gone forever.
“And by the way,” asked Kiwi “have you heard of the Moa bird that used to live in New Zealand? Like us they couldn’t fly. But they were very big birds, sometimes weighing as much as a cow. Unfortunately people ate every last one of them. They are now extinct, along with over a hundred other species of native animals in New Zealand.”
“That’s terrible, Kiwi!” exclaimed Chloe. “Mrs Little-Higgins told our class that Australia has lost almost half of our native animals since the early settlers arrived.”
“Really?” said Kiwi. “That’s the worst record I have ever heard of. It must be the worst in the world! Did you know that the more native animals there are the better? Their poop and pee fertilises plants so they grow better, and also makes the soil richer and healthier.”
“Yes you are right” Joey said, very excited. “We kangaroos eat mainly wild grasses. The grass seeds end up in our poop on the ground and this helps more wild grasses to grow. Also we like to eat dry grasses and that helps stop bushfires. Did you know that Chloe? Bushfires are really dangerous when there is too much dry grass because it makes the fire burn hotter and faster.”
“And my teacher said that your feet have long nails which make little holes in the ground for seeds to go in and that helps the soil breathe. Cows and sheep make the ground hard and then nothing grows and then it turns into a desert” piped up Chloe.
“This is all good information to tell those reporters Chloe,” said Kiwi. “And don’t forget, the more trees and grasses you have the less dry and hot your country will be. Trees make more shade and keep everything cooler. Trees also create oxygen for people and animals to breathe. And the bacteria from rainforests seed clouds. Without rainforests the world would have no more rain.”
“Imagine how wonderful it would be if we had all those animals who are now extinct still living with us. Our country would be so rich and we would have even more tourists visiting us. But every time we lose a species of mammal, bird, reptile, fish, insect, frog or snail, our country loses its true wealth.” Kiwi looked terribly sad.
“The greater the variety of native animals living in the wild the better, because all these species help to keep forests growing, seas alive, the water clean and the soil healthy. Without variety everything will become old and sick and then die. It is already happening in many places,” Kiwi sighed.
“Besides, if we lose all the native animals and only have cows, sheep, horses, dogs, cats and humans, how boring would that be!” Kiwi frowned.
“Oh, no!” said Chloe. “I don’t want to live in a world without birds, kangaroos, possums and all the other native animals I love.”
Chloe was feeling very upset, but she had to stay calm so she could think straight and remember clearly.
“OK, let me get this straight, Kiwi,” said Chloe. “What you are saying is that because there are too many people chopping down the trees and destroying land, leaving nowhere for animals to live, all the native animals will become extinct. Is that what you are saying?”
“Yes, Chloe! The fact that Joey’s family is in danger is proof. There are thousands and thousands of kangaroo families in a similar position that you don’t even know about. I would bet anything that those families will all die because there is no more space left. Combine that with the drought in Australia and the fact that too many kangaroos are being shot and the result is that kangaroos are heading for extinction. Please wake the people up before it’s too late for the kangaroos, as it almost is for the kiwis.”
“OK, we’ll try” said Chloe. “But what are we going to do about that mean minister in Australia who won’t move the kangaroos?” Chloe scratched her head and frowned. “He doesn’t seem to care. He makes the rules and he doesn’t seem to listen to what people in our town want. He doesn’t even listen to children begging him! How can we get him to do the right thing?”
“Well, why don’t you speak to the kind minister in Auckland? Maybe he can tell the mean minister that he needs to protect the kangaroos because if he doesn’t there won’t be any for his children and grandchildren to enjoy. Doesn’t he even care about his own children?” Kiwi asked. “Won’t he feel bad about that?”
“Good point, Kiwi,” said Chloe nodding. “The minister must love his children enough to want to make sure there are plenty of native animals left for his grandchildren. What fun would it be to be born in Australia but be unable to see any kangaroos in the wild? Or to know that they used to hop around in the bush but now you can only see them in a zoo?”
“Chloe and Joey, I like you both very much. I see that the two of you are on an important mission so I am going to give you a very special gift to help you” said Kiwi. He scuttled over to a nearby bush, scratched at some leaves near the ground with his feet, and looked carefully at one rock and then another. Finally he found the right one, picked it up in his bill (which is the kiwi’s beak) and ran back with it, placing it carefully at Chloe’s feet.
“It’s a rare stone found only in New Zealand,” Kiwi said. “The Maori use it to bring luck. Since we have been keeping them in our burrows, more people have been helping us. If you take good care of this magic green stone and keep it with you, it will help you to protect kangaroos too.”
Chloe brushed off the dirt and looked at the stone. It seemed to shimmer with a strange light. She said “Wow, it’s beautiful!”
“Every time you look at it think of us and we will try and help you,” Kiwi said.
“I must say it’s been a great pleasure and a distinct honour to meet you Kiwi,” said Chloe. “I am so glad that New Zealanders are trying really hard to save the kiwis. Thank you for all your wise advice and especially for the magic green stone. We will try our best to get your message to everyone in Australia so they can protect all the joeys and all the grown-up kangaroos.”
“It’s a great pleasure and honour to meet both of you too,” replied Kiwi, fluffing out his feathers with pleasure.
Chloe was very embarrassed that she had not thought to bring a gift for Kiwi. What special thing could she give him? Joey took a postcard from his backpack and handed it to Kiwi. It was a photo of a little koala, who are almost as rare as kiwis. How could such a beautiful animal be cruelly killed for their fur, as they were last century, driven almost to extinction? And then, on top of that, the trees koalas lived in were chopped down so that more houses could be built and wood chips could be sent overseas. How wrong it was, Chloe thought.
“Even these cute, unique koalas are also regarded as a nuisance by some people. Incredible! Koalas get on with other animals and so do kangaroos, so why can’t humans get on with animals?” Chloe said out loud.
Kiwi thanked Joey for the postcard. He said “I’ve never seen a koala or a kangaroo before, and I must say you are very beautiful animals. Your fur looks really nice and soft. May I touch it?”
Joey said “Go ahead.” Kiwi lifted one leg and put it on Joey’s foot. It was very soft and fluffy. “You have a much nicer foot than mine, and it’s a lot bigger too! No wonder you can hop so well. Our problem is we can’t get away from non-native
animals like stoats, weasels, ferrets, possums, dogs and cats as well as you can, so many of us have died because of those predators. We don’t have enough defences, such as being able to fly, and it is very easy for them find our eggs which are hidden in burrows in the ground. And then there are all the poisoned baits that people put on the ground to kill the predators, that we sometimes eat by accident. What chance is there for us?”
Just then Chloe remembered she had a red ribbon in her hair her mother had tied for her as she was leaving for the airport in Melbourne. She untied it from her hair and handed it to Kiwi. “This is for you, Kiwi,” said Chloe. Kiwi was delighted. Red was his favourite colour. He thanked her, held it in his long bill and walked over to a log. He put the postcard and the ribbon under the log.
“I go by that log every day and when I see these beautiful treasures from you I will think of you and all the kangaroos” Kiwi said “I hope that you will have good luck because what you do in Australia may help the kiwis in New Zealand too. People all over the world need to think about what is happening to all the wild animals and our homes and to learn to live in peace with us.”
“And we will think of you every time we touch the magic green stone,” chimed Joey and Chloe. “We hope that your species does not die out. Thank you for all your help. We will pass along the message from you and see if the kind minister will speak to the mean minister and get some action. We must go now. Goodbye! We love you Kiwi!”
“We love you too,” said Kiwi. “Goodbye.” It was time to head back to Henry’s house.