|
Above: An adult kakapo Strigops habroptilus in a passive perch. Image Crown Copyright © Department of Conservation. |
|
 |
|
The slow and unsteady return from the brink of extinction .....
Life moves slowly for kakapo, and so does breeding, so any year with good crops of chicks is a worthwhile lift. The long, tedious battle to save them over a period of six decades has been fraught with disasters, saved by dedicated effort, and occasionally boosted with success.
With very limited hatchlings, and in many years none, it has been a balancing act between losses because of old age and predation, and few births.
In 2001 there were 62 birds - 36 males and 26 females.
The population got a big boost with 24 new chicks in 2002, bringing the total to 86.
There were only four new chicks in 2005, the lowest number for four breeding years. The fertility rate that season was only 56 percent.
|
 |
|
From 2001 to 2014, the total kakapo population has grown from 62 to 142. |
|
 |
|
Kakapo had a good year in 2008. All eggs were fertile, and 10 chicks raised the population to 90. Two six year-old females bred which is young, considering the lowest previous known breeding age was nine.
A record 34 chicks hatched in the 2009 breeding season, bringing the population to 125, passing the 100 mark and more than doubling the 2001 population. It is the most successful season since the recovery programme began.
In 2011, 11 chicks hatched . Rimu masting did not occur, failing to ripen fruit for mothers to naturally feed their chicks. Without help, all 11 chicks would have died. Four mothers were able to feed a single chick with the help of supplementary food provided by staff and volunteers, and 6 were transferred from Codfish Island to a hand rearing facility.
There were no chicks in 2012 and 2013. So it has been remarkable with 6 in 2014, the first in three years, bringing the total population up to 142.
|