<
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/critically-endangered-kakapo-parrot-has-standout-breeding-season/>
"A total of 59 healthy kākāpō chicks have hatched over the last few weeks,
according to the latest tally by Aotearoa New Zealand’s Department of
Conservation. This marks one of the most successful recent breeding seasons for
this critically endangered bird, whose last breeding season was four years ago.
The kākāpō (
Strigops habroptilus), a flightless bird in the parrot family
endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand, has a total population of 236 adults, up from
a low of just 51 individuals in the 1990s. Around the same period, the
surviving birds were relocated to three predator-free Aotearoa New Zealand
islands — Whenua Hou, Pukenui and Te Kākahu-o-Tamatea — but they’ve still
struggled with low reproduction rates.
“Every new chick brings the species further from the brink of extinction,”
Deidre Vercoe, the Department of Conservation’s operations manager for kākāpō,
told
Mongabay by email. “There’s always a sense of hope and optimism for the
future.”
Kākāpō only breed in years when the native rimu (
Dacrydium cupressinum) tree
produces a heavy crop of fruits, which happens every 2-4 years.
So far this year, 140 fertile eggs have been identified and 52 healthy chicks
were born, with an extra seven chicks assumed via remote technology. The data
are shared with the public every Friday, with an uploaded photo of the tally
written in marker on the department’s refrigerator.
Though more chicks may hatch over the next days and months, they likely won’t
all survive. The breeding season record was in 2019, with 73 fledglings."
Via Frederick Wilson II.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
