KEY POINTS:
Using his beak as a walking stick and his stump as a counter balance, Sparky has mastered life as a one-legged kiwi.
Now the disabled bird is picking up the torch from Snoopy - a one-legged kiwi who died aged 15 in June - as a unique Kiwi
ambassador.
The nocturnal bird is being prepared for a life in the limelight from his home base at the Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre.
Robert Webb, the centre manager, said Sparky would carry on Snoopy's work of visiting schools, businesses and rest-homes around the North Island, giving New Zealanders a chance to get a close-up look and even stroke one of our national icons.
The injured North Island brown kiwi arrived at the centre nearly six years ago, aged about four months, after being found caught in a gin trap by a Kerikeri landowner.
Mr Webb said schoolchildren had set one of the steel jaw traps for possums but instead snared the young kiwi whose right leg was so badly shattered it had to be amputated.
"We called him Sparky because he was a lively little kiwi."
Even with one leg he is active. "He is quite fast at hopping, he's like a kid on a pogo stick."
Now he is following in the "foot-hops" of Snoopy with successful trial runs at Whangarei retirement homes.
"A lot of the residents never thought they would ever see, let alone touch, a kiwi in their life. They are amazed - it leaves them with a smile on their face."
Yesterday Sparky embarked on his first road trip to Auckland where he was introduced to staff at Bayer, a chemical and healthcare company on the North Shore which sponsors the bird recovery centre.
Mr Webb was thrilled at how well Sparky handled his first corporate assignment.
"He has settled down well and is actually doing everything identically to Snoopy."
That included him hiding his head in the keeper's armpit when he felt a bit tired and wanted time out.
As a reward for putting up with the attention Sparky got the back of his neck scratched.
"Let's face it, it's a bit hard for a kiwi to scratch itself when it only has one leg."
Mr Webb said injured kiwi tended to be fussed over, so they developed a bond with humans.
But while the public got to pat the birds they were not allowed to pick up and hold kiwi, which were hard to handle, especially as they had no breastbone.
"They would die if they were dropped."
Sparky's new role might see him flown to Wellington, as was Snoopy, who travelled on Mr Webb's knee by special exemption.
