By Charlotte Graham-clay WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) \u2014 The kiwi, New Zealand\u2019s sacred national bird, vanished from the hills around Wellington more than a century ago. Now the capital’s residents are waging an improbable citizen campaign to return the endangered flightless birds to the city. \u201cThey are a part of who we are and our sense of belonging here,\u201d said Paul Ward, founder of the Capital Kiwi Project, a charitable trust. \u201cBut they\u2019ve been gone from these hills for well over a century and we decided as Wellingtonians that wasn\u2019t right.\u201d On a hill wreathed in mist above the dark sea that runs between New Zealand\u2019s North and South Islands, Ward and others crossed rugged farmland late on Tuesday night, carrying seven crates in silence by dim red torchlight. Inside… <\/p>\n
By Charlotte Graham-clay WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) \u2014 The kiwi, New Zealand\u2019s sacred national bird, vanished from the hills around Wellington more than a century ago. Now the capital’s residents are waging an improbable citizen campaign to return the endangered flightless birds to the city. \u201cThey are a part of who we are and our sense of belonging here,\u201d said Paul Ward, founder of the Capital Kiwi Project, a charitable trust. \u201cBut they\u2019ve been gone from these hills for well over a century and we decided as Wellingtonians that wasn\u2019t right.\u201d On a hill wreathed in mist above the dark sea that runs between New Zealand\u2019s North and South Islands, Ward and others crossed rugged farmland late on Tuesday night, carrying seven crates in silence by dim red torchlight. Inside... <\/p>\n