Two kiwi birds have been born in New Zealand’s capital for the first time in more than a century

(CNN) — Conservationists have discovered two kiwi chicks in Wellington, the first wild birth of the bird to be recorded in New Zealand’s capital in more than 150 years.

The two new chicks come a year after a Kiwi capital project reintroduced the country’s iconic national bird to the city of 400,000 people.

Their birth in Makara, a suburb 25 minutes from Wellington city centre, brings the local total to 65 North Island brown kiwis.

The brown kiwi is one of the most common kiwi species in New Zealand, but according to New Zealand Department of DefenceWithout adequate protection and support, birds can become extinct in the wild within two generations.

A further 18 brown kiwi chicks are expected to hatch as part of the Kiwi Capital project, which hopes to restore large-scale wild kiwi populations in New Zealand’s capital. The project plans to use the transmitters to monitor the two new kiwi chicks and other chicks that hatch.

The flightless bird, which once numbered around 12 million in New Zealand, has dwindled to just 68,000, according to the Save the Kiwi charity. The system is in between About 90 projects Kiwi conservation aimed at increasing population.

In 1991, the New Zealand Department of Conservation launched the Kiwi Recovery Program, which focused on poaching control and community involvement.

According to New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, the country’s kiwi population is declining by an average of 2% annually, mainly due to predators such as stoats, cats, dogs and ferrets.

According to Save the Kiwi, 95% of wild-born kiwis in New Zealand die prematurely.

“The only real problem for older Kiwis is stray dogs. “The stoats that feed on the chicks before the chicks reach fighting weight are where they are attacked.” told CNN Kiwi Capital Project Group Chairman Paul Ward earlier this year.

Ward expressed confidence in the project following the release of 63 kiwis near Wellington last November, the first time wild kiwis have lived in the area in nearly a century.