We can't tell you whether this little kiwi is a House of Pain fan, but it sure is good at jumping around. 


Staff at New Zealand's Orokonui Eco-Sanctuary shared a clip of the bird's dancing shenanigans on the facility's Facebook page recently. The energetic kiwi was filmed near a feeding station just before 7 am, and since these are nocturnal animals, that's just before bedtime (second wind, anyone?).

According to head ranger Kelly Gough, the flightless bird is most likely a young male named Rawiri, who has been at the sanctuary since May. Gough adds that this type of behaviour is not unusual in young kiwis. "They tend to bounce around a lot," she says.

They might not be the most elegant creatures, but kiwis are certainly unique, with a whole range of oddball features. New Zealand is home to five different species, and all of them are in decline, largely because introduced predators like stoats are eating their way through wild populations. In some of the rarer species, only around 5% of chicks reach adulthood in the wild.

At Orokonui, young kiwis grow up behind the safety of a predator-proof fence before being released into their natural habitat once they're big enough to fend for themselves.

As for young Rawiri, we hope he got a good day's sleep before his next dance-off. 

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