Video has emerged of two kiwi birds fighting during the day on predator-free Ulva Island, a behaviour the tour skipper says "didn't surprise me at all".
The 45-second video — taken by Ulva Island Water Taxi guests Cayle Cross and Madison Pusch in October 2025 — showed two adult kiwi striking each other with their powerful legs and claws.
Rakiura Adventure Ltd operations manager Rakiura Herzhoff told 1News the video was taken on Ulva Island, just off Stewart Island/Rakiura, and shared with him by the pair when they got back on the boat
He only just shared it on Facebook.
The skipper said on Stewart Island "we see stuff like that all the time".
"Honestly, the video is great, but it didn't surprise me at all because living on Stewart Island, growing up there, you see this. I've seen so many daytime kiwi.
He said the video was an "amazing showcase" however, and not something that happens every day.
"Most of it is so quick that you barely get time to take your phone out to take a video or a photo, and sometimes you don't even want to, because by the time you've got your phone out you've sort of missed it.
Herzhoff said the kiwi on Ulva Island were known to be "active during the day".
"The ones down there, they get pretty big."
Why are these kiwi out during the day?
Kiwi expert Dr Emma Feenstra, who conducted her PhD research on Stewart Island kiwi through Massey University in 2018, said the chance of seeing kiwi fighting during the day was rare, but not unusual.
She told 1News it was quite common to see kiwi during the day on the island, potentially due to the longer daytime periods.
"Because of the latitude of the island and in the summer, it's not dark for very long. So if kiwi were only active overnight like they are in other places, then they might not be able to find enough food within that time," she explained.
"I think us witnessing it is unusual because in most other places, they're nocturnal predominantly, so you only see them at night.
“The chance of seeing an encounter like that, to the public who are mostly on walking tracks, the chance of seeing fighting kiwi is probably pretty rare, but I don't think kiwi fighting [in general] is rare."
She added that the video was "a good sign" for conservation efforts on the island.
"It is a good sign that you see kiwi fighting, and that there are enough kiwi to be out there scrapping with one another."
It wasn't the first time kiwi had been captured on camera having a daylight scrap.
Last year, two birds went viral after their fight spilled into Karin Matthews' backyard in Kerikeri, Bay of Plenty.
The 45-second video — taken by Cayle Cross and Madison Pusch in October 2025 — showed the two adult kiwi striking each other with their powerful legs and claws. (Source: Supplied)
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