‘Coming home’: kiwi enter parliament for first time as New Zealand marks conservation win

Politicians, children and Māori groups gathered in the Wellington banquet hall to see in the flesh the success of efforts to protect country’s national bird

When five kiwi were presented to a crowd of 300 people gathered inside the banquet hall of New Zealand’s parliament, there was an awe-struck intake of breath.

As handlers moved through the group, cradling the whiskery birds, people looked on, spellbound. Some grew teary, and one boy, who noticed a soft brown feather drift to the floor, scooped it up, as his mother urged him to keep it safe.