Paora

Paora

Paora having a snack in 2024
Species	Brown kiwi[1]
Sex	Male
Hatched	(2019-04-09) 9 April 2019 (age 5) Zoo Miami, Florida, U.S.
Known for	Mistreatment by zookeepers
Residence	Zoo Miami
Named after	Paora Haitana

Paora (Māori pronunciation: [ˈpaɔɾa]; hatched 9 April 2019) is a brown kiwi that was the first kiwi to be born in the U.S. state of Florida, after his parents were loaned from New Zealand, to the Smithsonian National Zoo. He currently resides at Zoo Miami and gained widespread attention in May 2023 after social media videos showing him being mistreated went viral.

The videos showed Paora being stroked by the public, near loud noises, away from plantlife, and under bright sunlight or lights, despite kiwi being nocturnal birds. One video showed what Newshub described as the zoo using Paora's "need for darkness as a gimmick", and showed him in daylight running to his box, only for the zookeeper to open the door to expose him to light again.

After the videos received widespread attention, Zoo Miami goodwill ambassador Ron Magill apologised, saying that "We have offended the nation of New Zealand", and the zoo immediately stopped offering the kiwi encounters. The zoo said that Paora will in future be kept in quietness and relative darkness during the day, out of the public view. After the incident, the zoo started building a new habitat for Paora, which has been authorised by the New Zealand Department of Conservation and charity Save the Kiwi.