This Special Bird Is No Longer Threatened

Thanks to intensive conservation efforts, the populations of all five species of kiwis have grown across New Zealand, most notably the North Island brown kiwi, to the point where the species no longer appears on the threatened list.

“There’s still a huge battle to be fought, but this is hugely encouraging,” says Hugh Robertson, chief science advisor in the Department of Conservation.

Interventions such as intensive trapping and the establishment of breeding programmes and pest-free areas have been put into place to save the uniquely flightless ground-dwelling national bird from the brink of extinction. Operation Nest Egg – where eggs are taken from wild nest to hatch and be raised in captivity, then released into the wild – raised the survival chances from only 5% to 30-50%. The number of North Island brown kiwis grew to more than 20,000, and its population is expected to grow by more than 10% over the next three generations. Other bird species have also thrived thanks to the efforts to save the kiwi, so much so that the number of animals critically threatened went from 25 in 2012 to 18 in 2021.