Endangered kiwi return to New Zealand capital in emotional homecoming after century-long absence

NewsWorldAustralasiaEndangered kiwi return to New Zealand capital in emotional homecoming after century-long absenceA citizen-led effort is bringing the sacred national bird back to Wellington’s hillsCharlotte Graham-McLay Friday 01 May 2026 10:01 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"CF1:2968574To1","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/new-zealand-kiwi-birds-wellington-b2968701.html","title":"Endangered kiwi return to New Zealand capital in emotional homecoming"}}CloseHow the British public is helping the kiwiOn The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Australasia","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"}}New Zealand is witnessing an extraordinary citizen-led effort to bring its sacred nat...