Kiwi chicks born in the wild in New Zealand’s capital for first time in over a century
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With the two new additions, the number of North Island brown kiwis in Wellington is now 65, reported CNN.
PHOTO: CAPITAL.KIWI/INSTAGRAM
Two kiwi chicks have been born in the wild in Wellington for the first time in over 150 years.
The two chicks, which were born in Makara, a suburb that is 25 minutes away from the city centre, came a year after Capital Kiwi Project reintroduced the national bird to New Zealand’s capital.
The flightless birds, including the additional 18 chicks that will be hatched as part of the project, will be monitored by transmitters, according to the project’s Instagram post.
It added that an update will be provided at the end of the season.
With the two new additions, the number of North Island brown kiwis in Wellington is now 65, reported CNN.
While it is one of the most common kiwi species in the country, the Department of Conservation in New Zealand said that without ongoing support, the North Island brown kiwi “will be extinct in the wild within two generations” due to factors such as dogs, stoats, cats, cars and habitat loss.
Charity Save The Kiwi noted that there were once about 12 million kiwis, but the population has since plummeted to about 68,000, and unmanaged populations continue to “decline by 2 per cent per year”.
According to the charity, stoats are the number one killers of kiwi chicks and also the main reason 95 per cent of wild-born kiwis are killed before they reached adulthood.
