I could probably do an entire month on fun animals in New Zealand because there are so many and they are all so awesome, but if there's one everyone should know, it's the kakapo. Kakapo are one of the three remaining species of the parrot superfamily Strigopoidea, which also includes the kaka and kea. They're the heaviest parrot and flightless, but they have very strong legs and are good at climbing and hiking. They're also very hard to find, not only because their mottled green feathers blend in well with foliage but also because there are only about 120 left. What's worse is that 120 is a really good number compared to when they couldn't find any in the 1970s.
Conservation efforts have been ramped up, and now two islands have been established specifically as kakapo sites, Codfish Island and Little Barrier Island. The birds, all of whom are named, are monitored closely and provided with supplementary food when their standard diet of rimu berries runs low. One kakapo in particular, Sirocco, serves as the spokesbird of New Zealand conservation efforts: a respiratory infection as a chick left him more or less imprinted on humans, so he tours the country every so often to promote conservation efforts.
In addition to mating with TV show hosts, kakapo mating is of particular importance because of the small population size. It only occurs once every few years, and egg viability is often a problem with the reduced genetic pool. In 2012, the program transferred a few kakapo pairs to Little Barrier Island to determine its viability as a reduced-monitoring site, and researchers were pleasantly surprised to see that there are eggs at some of the nesting sites on the island this year. The birds here don't receive the supplemental feeding due to the reduced-monitoring trial, but the presence of fertile eggs shows that the site is a success thus far.
No comments:
Post a Comment