January 01, 2024
Conservationists have registered the birth of two wild kiwi chicks in Wellington, New Zealand, for the first time in more than 150 years. The two brown kiwis were discovered in Makara, Wellington, which takes the brown kiwi’s number in the region to 65. The kiwi population in New Zealand has declined from approximately 12 million to 68,000 over time, because of which conservationists have had to take up numerous conservation programmes to protect the kiwi population. The Capital Kiwi Project, which aims at restoring the wild kiwi population to New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, was reintroduced in 2022. The birth of the new chicks provides hope for conservation programmes being implemented in New Zealand. The new kiwi chicks and other hatchlings will be monitored with the help of transmitters.
Did You Know?
Only around 10% of kiwi chicks reach adulthood as most chicks are killed by predators.
