New Zealand's kiwi bird returns to Wellington hills after a century-long absence
Key takeaways
- Issued on: 01/05/2026 - 11:51Modified: 01/05/2026 - 11:52
- Now the capital's residents are waging an unlikely citizen campaign to return the endangered flightless birds to the city.
- “They are a part of who we are and our sense of belonging here,” said Paul Ward, founder of the Capital Kiwi Project, a charitable trust.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
A citizen campaign is returning New Zealand's flightless kiwi bird to the hills around the capital Wellington more than a century after Europeans – and the animals they introduced – decimated their numbers across the country.
Issued on: 01/05/2026 - 11:51Modified: 01/05/2026 - 11:52
By: FRANCE 24 A staff member of a conservation organisation holds a kiwi bird during an event at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 28, 2026. © Sara Tansy, AP The kiwi, New Zealand’s sacred national bird, vanished from the hills around Wellington more than a century ago. Now the capital's residents are waging an unlikely citizen campaign to return the endangered flightless birds to the city.