The kākāpo population is set to boom in 2026, and conservationists are working hard to prepare with, among other things, the removal of predators from an island ahead of a new reintroduction project.
The kākāpo, the world’s only flightless and nocturnal parrot, is native to New Zealand and only found on a handful of predator-free offshore islands.
The elusive bird has won the hearts of many around the world thanks to its uniqueness, charm and its appearances in natural history documentaries.
With less than 250 individual birds, every breeding season counts – but frustratingly, these birds don’t breed every year. Instead, they breed every few years (between two to four) to coincide with the mast events of the rimu tree, when the female trees produce vast amounts of seeds and fruits, triggered by previous summer temperatures.
“Because kākāpō breeding is so infrequent, it’s vital we make the most of each opportunity,” says Dr Andrew Digby, Department of Conservation (DOC) science advisor.
“Besides increasing the population, breeding years provide an important chance to develop and test more efficient and less intensive management methods, such as remote monitoring technology, to ensure kākāpō recovery is sustainable in the long-term.”
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Thanks to a variety of conservation methods, the kākāpo was saved from extinction. It was feared extinct in the 1970s, and despite efforts to conserve discovered populations, numbers dropped to around 50 individuals in the 1990s.
Since then, however, numbers have increased. Kākāpo have been moved to islands free of non-native predators, habitat conservation work has been undertaken, and some chicks have even been hand-reared.
Such success means that the Kākāpo Recovery Group is running out of suitable land for kākāpo – and another island is being prepared for a reintroduction.
A partnership project is preparing to remove non-native predators, such as cats, hedgehogs and rats, from Rakiura (Stewart Island), where kākāpo were once found. Predator Free Rakiura (PFR) is planning a large-scale attempt to eradicate these predators.
"Rakiura is the original hou kainga [home] for these birds,” says Tāne Davis, a Ngāi Tahu representative on the Kākāpō Recovery Group, "as many of them or their parents came from here. The pressure is on for us to make it possible for them to return.”
Top image: Kākāpo mum with chick in nest cavity. Credit: Deidre Vercoe DOC
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