Kiwi are back in Wellington bush after four years of trapping south-west of the city.
Thirteen of the threatened native birds were gifted from Ōtorohanga Kiwi House and Ngāti Hinewai today, with a pōwhiri held at Mākara Model School.
Kiwi have not been seen in the wild in Wellington for generations, Capital Kiwi said in a press release, with some estimating they’ve been absent for over a century.
Local iwi Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o Te Ika, school children, locals and conservationists welcomed the flightless birds after their early morning departure from Ōtorohanga.
Founder Paul Ward said it’s hard to describe how he feels to be at this milestone after the successful trapping of 800 stoats and thousands of other pests by the community.
“I’d say I’ve got goose - maybe I’ll say I’ve got kiwi bumps instead of goose bumps," he said.
“I’ve got seven generations in my family go back on these hills and my great-great-great-great-grandfather would have gone to bed at night hearing kiwi and so this will be the first time since then that people will be hearing that call again so we’re pretty stoked as a community."
Ward said in preparation for the homecoming Capital Kiwi asked landowners, the people of Mākara and iwi if the flightless bird should be returned to the area.
“There was a unanimous yes to go kiwi and so our job then was to get on with delivering that so that was roughly four or five years ago.”
Around 4500 traps were installed and continue to be managed over a 23,000 hectare area from Red Rocks to Porirua, which is larger than Abel Tasman National Park.
Capital Kiwi received approval from the Department of Conservation in September to relocate 250 kiwi over the next six years.
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