Wellington Releases 250th Kiwi in Conservation Milestone

Wellington, New Zealand residents have successfully relocated the 250th kiwi, the nation's iconic flightless bird, back to the city's surrounding hills, marking a milestone in a decade-long community-led conservation effort.

Late Tuesday night, members of the Capital Kiwi Project carried seven crates containing the endangered birds across rugged farmland on a misty hill overlooking the sea between New Zealand's North and South Islands. Using dim red torchlight to avoid disturbing the nocturnal creatures, volunteers quietly opened the crates, allowing the kiwis to emerge with tentative steps before darting into the shadowed landscape. One onlooker recited a Māori prayer as the birds took their first steps in the area, from which they had vanished more than a century ago.

The birds made history earlier that day with their first visit to New Zealand's Parliament. Handlers carried them into the grand banquet hall, where lawmakers and schoolchildren watched in hushed awe as conservation workers cradled the shy animals, known for their long beaks, underdeveloped wings and whiskered faces. The event celebrated the project's achievement of returning 250 kiwis to Wellington since its...