Shocked driver stops for rare creature on New Zealand road. Watch ‘epic’ moment
Though they might look cute and fluffy, bushtail possums are serious threats to native wildlife in New Zealand.
After their introduction in the mid-1800s in an attempt to establish a fur trade, possums have spiraled out of control, taking up habitat and spreading disease to the creatures that call Aotearoa, or New Zealand, home.
That’s why driver Campbell Hutchings nearly sped up his car when he thought he saw one of the invasive animals on the road, according to a June 4 news release from the Department of Conservation.
Thankfully, he decided to get a closer look first.
“He slowed down on the road near Ōtanewainuku and was rewarded with a kiwi encounter many New Zealanders dream of,” wildlife officials said in the release. “In a video sure to tug at on heart strings, his first reaction is shock, followed quickly by a delighted ‘It’s a kiwi!’ as the unconcerned bird meanders across the road.”
Officials shared the video of the surprise moment.
Hutchings hops out of his vehicle as the bird moves slowly across the road, saying he has never seen one in the wild before, the video shows.
“Epic!” he exclaims.
Brown kiwis are the most common kiwi population and are found on the northern island of New Zealand, according to the release.
Seeing them at all used to be very rare, but sightings are increasing as their numbers grow thanks to conservation efforts.
“We’re at a point where encounters with kiwi are becoming more frequent. Kiwi live in a range of habitats so they won’t necessarily stay in a neat patch of bush, they cross the road and enter backyards, it’s amazing, but also risky for the birds. It’s essential we all play a role in protecting them,” Department of Conservation Tauranga operations manager Kristine Theiss said in the release.
“You can see in this video just how naïve they are — absolutely no idea about roads or cars — so we ask drivers to watch out for them at night in kiwi areas,” Theiss said. “There’s often a yellow kiwi sign indicating their presence in the area.”
There are now an estimated 26,000 brown kiwi that have multiple daytime shelters and burrows they use, sometimes in tight vegetation but other times along the edge of roads, wildlife officials said.
“As bird numbers increase, we are calling on our community to slow down when traveling around Ōtanewainuku to protect them from vehicles,” Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust chair Lesley Jensen said in the release.
The Ōtanewainuku forest is near the northern coast of New Zealand’s north island.
This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Shocked driver stops for rare creature on New Zealand road. Watch ‘epic’ moment."
