Kakapo chicks get VIP treatment
Monday, April 14, 2008 at 15:41 Seven kakapo chicks that hatched just over two weeks ago on Whenua Hou (Codfish Island) are to be transferred to special facilities in Nelson to ensure their survival.
Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick said she was thrilled with the season's kakapo breeding success.
"The safe arrival of these chicks brings the total kakapo population to 92 and is testament to the dedication of the Department of Conservation in ensuring that these ancient and critically endangered birds continue to survive," Ms Chadwick said.
Kakapo are an ancient species of nocturnal, flightless parrot, once found right throughout New Zealand, but due to human impacts and predation by a range of introduced mammals, kakapo are now threatened with extinction.
The chicks are being hand-raised in Nelson to optimise their survival chances. Kakapo mothers depend on ripe rimu fruit on which to feed their young.
However, this season the fruit on Whenua Hou did not ripen.
Hand-raising has previously been carried out successfully and hand-raised birds now comprise 20 percent of the kakapo population.
"The Kakapo Recovery Programme is an internationally recognised successful model of endangered species conservation.
It is an excellent example of business, the public and a government department working hand in hand, through the partnership of Rio Tinto Alcan NZ Ltd, Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and the Department of Conservation," Ms Chadwick said.
"I want to thank the many volunteers for their support and work in helping the recovery of New Zealand's most endangered bird.
"It is a reflection of the value that New Zealanders place on our natural heritage, to see the determination and dedication of the wide range of volunteers who are living in rather challenging conditions to enable these tiny chicks to survive."
Kakapo last bred in 2005 when four chicks were produced, but the record year was 2002 with 24 chicks.