The kākāpō has had its most successful breeding season since
conservation efforts rescued it from the brink of extinction in the 1970s
Nicola Toki
Thursday 21 April 201610.27 BST
The world’s heaviest parrot, a critically endangered bird that
only lives in a remote part of New Zealand, has had its
most successful breeding season since conservation efforts began more than two
decades ago.
Thirty-seven kākāpō chicks
are currently surviving, providing a much-needed boost to the population of 123
adult kākāpō which live on predator-free islands.
The charismatic parrots, which were once thought to be extinct
until a population of males and female was found in the 1970s on Stewart
Island, reached their lowest number in 1977 at just 18 known birds.
Once found all over New Zealand, they were hunted first by
Maori and then by European arrivals. The birds, cloaked in a rainbow of green
hues, were so common that an early explorer described being able to shake a
tree until they tumbled to the ground, like apples.
But after the introduction of predators such as stoats,
ferrets and weasels, their numbers declined noticeably, and by 1840 they had
disappeared from the North Island. The loss from the South Island occurred soon
after.
The 2016 breeding success signals a new era for kākāpō
conservation, said Department of Conservation kākāpō
operations manager, Deidre Vercoe.
“The chick numbers achieved this year are a real step towards
a future that doesn’t involve the hands-on management of every single bird,”
she said.
“Due to some huge improvements in technology in the kākāpō
recovery programme, we now have remote nest monitoring and smart transmitters
that provide high quality data on what the birds are doing.”
No comments:
Post a Comment