Iconic kiwi birds return to New Zealand's capital after century-long absence

environment wildlife

A citizen-led campaign is working to return New Zealand's sacred national bird, the flightless kiwi, to the hills around the capital city of Wellington.

More than a century ago, Europeans and the animals they introduced decimated the bird's numbers across the country. It is thought that there were 12 million kiwi roaming the landscape before humans arrived, but today only about 70,000 remain.

This initiative is part of a broader quest to rid the island nation of introduced predators by the year 2050.

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A citizen campaign returns iconic kiwi birds to New Zealand's capital after a century-long absence

abcnews.com