What Is The Baby 'Pūkeko,' And Why Are People So Obsessed With It? Memes About The Big-Footed Bird Often Mistaken For A Kiwi or Jacana Explained

Memes about cats, dogs and capybaras are so last year; 2024 is all about a bird that's got feet so big they make clown shoes look dainty. Meet the baby pūkeko, New Zealand's own avian answer to Bigfoot, waddling its way into internet fame with its hilariously oversized feet and endearing awkwardness.

Pūkeko memes have nested across the internet, but their primary habitat is Tumblr, where users can’t get enough of their awkward charm.

From there, they’ve waddled onto Reddit and Twitter, where meme-makers gleefully exaggerate the bird’s comically large feet or mash it into absurd scenarios. So, how did this goofy Aussie wetland bird become a meme sensation? Here's a meme history of the baby pūkeko bird.

What Was The Baby Pūkeko's Internet Debut?

The pūkeko's journey into internet stardom began with a 2008 New Zealand energy advertisement, which showed a mama pūkeko bird leading two baby chicks around a house.

However, the earliest known post showing the most edited image of the baby pūkeko was posted to /r/PicsOfUnusualBirds by /u/Intellobang, who joked about how the bird must be "going through an awkward phase." The image highlighted the baby bird's funny and entirely disproportionate body, showing off its feet which remain the same size for the most part well into adulthood.

Sometime around March 2021, Tumblr user Cybis reposted the image, gathering over 47,000 notes in three years.

Where Did The Trend Of Editing Photos Of The Pūkeko Bird Start?

The trend of editing images of the pūkeko bird likely started on Tumblr, with @onlinebeast posting an early viral meme in March 2022. The image took the aforementioned picture of the juvenile pūkeko, squishing its body and elongating its legs. The post was captioned, "Big stupid feet, and you’re not presentable. Not one bit," gathering over 16,000 notes in two years.

Memes about the silly bird began to escape Tumblr containment by 2023, as seen in a video meme posted by YouTuber Ploštice Kryštof in September of that year. The meme showed the pūkeko with a muffled voice dubbed over it. The video, titled, "Goofy ahh Kiwi," gathered over 100,000 views in a year.

On November 12th, 2024, Tumblr user @notSIug tweeted, "ITS FRESH OUT THE EGGS!!!" alongside a video and a photo of several baby pūkeko birds. The post gathered over 130,000 likes in two days, and reignited popular interest in memes about the bird.

What Are Some More Baby Pūkeko Memes?

For the full history of the Baby Pūkeko, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.