Kākāpō to head home from Auckland Zoo after lengthy battle with deadly disease

Danielle Clent15:38, Feb 04 2020

CHRIS MCKEEN/STUFF

Margaret Maree, a kākāpō from Codfish Island, has survived her battle with a potentially fatal fungal lung infection.

After eight months of battling a rare and deadly disease, 34-year-old kākāpō Margaret Maree is finally heading home.

She was one of 12 kākāpō treated by Auckland Zoo after an outbreak of aspergillosis - a mould or fungus that infects the lungs - on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island.

Nearly 50 of the critically endangered birds were brought to the mainland from Whenua Hou, near Stewart Island, to be assessed after the outbreak last year.

A total of 21 birds were diagnosed with the disease. Nine died, including three at Auckland Zoo.

On January 30, Margaret Maree had her seventh CT scan at Veterinary Specialists Auckland in Mt Wellington after being brought to the zoo in May for treatment.

Test results have given Margaret Maree the all clear and she will return to her home with another kākāpō on Wednesday.

Senior veterinarian for Auckland Zoo, Dr An Pas, said staff were very pleased that she could go home after a "long and challenging" period.

"Being able to send the last two kākāpō home, one of these being Margaret Maree, one of the founder birds, after so many months of intensive treatment for her, feels great.

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Fungus DNA may help kākāpō crisis

13 Jul, 2019 5:00am

By: Kim Knight

Feature writer, NZ Herald

The international science effort to determine what's killing kākāpō has begun DNA-sequencing fungus collected from the birds' island home.

Researchers want to rule out the presence of an antifungal resistant strain of the disease aspergillosis, detected in seven dead kākāpō since April. Another 13 birds are still being treated for the disease in mainland vet hospitals, with some not expected to survive.

Dr Andrew Digby, Department of Conservation kākāpō science advisor, says DNA-sequencing would identify exactly what strains of the disease were present on Whenua Hou (Codfish Island) where all the sick birds had come from. Results would be shared with United Kingdom researchers working on a global study of the fungus, including a rise in treatment resistant strains.

Kākāpō is a critically endangered species - there are just 142 adults and 72 chicks in the world. At the height of the current crisis, around 45 birds had been removed from Whenua Hou. Massey University's Wild Base Vet Hospital, Dunedin Wildlife Hospital and Auckland Zoo Vet Hospital are caring for the quarantined kākāpō.

Digby says no new sick birds have been reported in the past three weeks, and 31 had now been returned to Whenua Hou. The international response was ongoing with around 20 individuals or organisations in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia now involved.

"Kākāpō are so unusual and weird that people are willing to give up their time and help."

Read on

Fungal infection setback for Kakapo

03/06/2019

After a strong start to 2019 for the Critically Endangered Kakapo, a debilitating fungus has dealt a major blow to its small population.

A healthy crop of berries was available this year on the species' favoured Rimu trees, with the breeding season producing a record 86 chicks, boosting the total population by some 50 per cent.

However, 30 Kakapos are now in hospital on the New Zealand mainland, with some fighting for their lives. Ten of the parrots have been confirmed as having the severe infection aspergillosis, caused by the fungus Aspergillus. This has already killed six individuals, while others are considered to be at high risk and are being tested for the fungus.

Deidre Vercoe, manager of the New Zealand Department of Conservation's Kakapo Recovery Team, explained: "It's a significant chunk of the population really, and it's the first time in living memory that number of birds has been on mainland New Zealand, away from their offshore islands.

"It's been quite hard with the birds that you know. Like when [a Kakapo named] Hoki died it was really difficult. She was 27 years old and she was known by so many people who worked with the programme. She was a staunch bird, she demanded your respect and everyone loved her. She was a real character."

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Adorable kākāpō chick undergoes world-first bird brain surgery

09/05/2019

A kākāpō chick has had its life saved after undergoing the world's first ever bird brain surgery.

The chick, known as Espy 1B, was born in the wild on Codfish Island and was in the care of the Department of Conservation's (DoC's) kākāpō recovery team.

Rangers noticed an unusual lump on Espy's head, and sent him to Dunedin Wildlife Hospital for a CT scan. There, it was discovered his skull hadn't fused properly.

"The chick was hatched with a hole in its skull that allowed part of the brain and dura (the tough barrier around the brain) to herniate out," said Massey University's Wildbase Hospital director Professor Brett Gartrell.

"In humans, this spot fuses after birth, but this is highly unusual in birds as the skull has finished fusing prior to hatch."

The concern was that Espy's soft spot left him open to trauma and infection.

Kākāpō are critically endangered, so there was only one thing for it - it was time for Espy to have brain surgery.

Espy was transported to Wildbase Hospital, and last Monday a team of veterinarians and veterinary technicians led by Professor Gartrell carried out the risky surgery.

Read more

Critically endangered kākāpō – the world's fattest parrot – has record breeding season

Just 147 adult kākāpō are alive today in their native New Zealand, but scientists hope their fortunes are turning around

Eleanor Ainge Roy in Dunedin

Wed 17 Apr 2019 03.56 BSTLast modified on Thu 18 Apr 2019 01.05 BST

The world’s fattest species of parrot has had a record-breaking breeding season in New Zealand, with scientists saying the fortunes of the critically-endangered bird are finally turning around.

There are only 147 adult kākāpō alive today, although a few hundred years ago they were one of New Zealand’s most common birds, before being hunted to the brink of extinction, killed by introduced pests, and losing their forest homes to farming.

The nocturnal, flightless parrot is one of New Zealanders' favourite birds, and is known for its charismatic nature and owl-like face.

Because the population is so small every kākāpō has a name – including Ruth, Hoki, Suzanne and Zephyr – and is subject to one of the most intensive management programmes of any species in the world. Infertility and in-breeding have been long-term issues for the birds’ reproductive efforts.

But this year 76 kākāpō chicks have hatched and 60 are expected to make it to adulthood, the result of heavy seeding in the New Zealand bush that has produced an abundance of the bird’s favourite food: fruit from the Rimu tree, a southern species of conifer.

Forty-nine out of 50 breeding females laid eggs this year. The last record-breaking breeding season was in 2016, when 37 chicks fledged.

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How 3D Printed Smart Eggs are Saving the Kakapo

22 MAR 2019

STEPHANIE DITTRICH

ISLAND NEWS, NEWS, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

The Critically Endangered Kakapo, a beloved parrot endemic to New Zealand, has seen renewed breeding success thanks to innovative technologies.

The future of the vibrant, forest green Kakapo has long been uncertain, due to human-introduced invasive rats, stoats, and feral cats. However, thanks to 3-D printing technology, this year’s breeding season has surpassed everyone’s expectations. 

The Kakapo is one of the more peculiar species within the avian world. In fact, it is referred to by some as the owl parrot thanks to the owl-like and somewhat comical appearance of its wide beak. It’s goofy and cute appearance aside, it is also the only species of bird in the entire world which is both nocturnal and flightless. However, what makes it unique also puts it at risk. Its inability to fly coupled with its habit of halting in peril at the sight of a predator has led to the steady decline of this species. It is currently categorized as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, with only 147 adults currently residing on predator-free islands in New Zealand. 

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Scientists are getting creative to save this muppet-faced, flightless parrot

The kakapo is down to its last 147 individuals. Now, scientists are using fitness trackers and semen-carrying drones to help the bird reproduce.

BY SARAH FELDBERG

PUBLISHED MARCH 5, 2019

INSIDE A HUT on remote Whenua Hou/Codfish Island off the coast of New Zealand’s South Island, there’s a chart on the refrigerator depicting the future of a species.

That species is the kakapo, an unusual, flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand. The chart lists every breeding female kakapo on the planet—50 of them, with names like Pearl, Marama, and Hoki—and the status of their eggs: smiley faces for fertile eggs, straight lines for infertile ones, wings and legs for hatched chicks, and Xs for those that have died.

In the hopes of more smiley faces getting wings and fewer getting Xs, a team of scientists, rangers, and volunteers are working around the clock during the current breeding season, using 3D-printed smart eggs, activity trackers, and a sperm-toting drone nicknamed the "cloaca courier" to turn a record breeding year into a repopulation milestone and help this beloved bird step back from the brink.

Read on

Museums Worcestershire: How flightless parrot reached Worcester

15th October

Sometimes referred to as an Owl Parrot due to its moon-like face, the bird is nocturnal and entirely vegetarian, feeding mainly on flowers, roots and leaves.

While our specimen is slightly faded in colour, the Kakapo is usually a bright mossy green with dappled yellow and black.

This camouflage allows the Kakapo some protection against birds who hunt above the forest using sight, but is of little use against mammals who hunt using smell. Before the arrival of humans the Kakapo was common throughout New Zealand’s forests, but became vulnerable to attack from introduced species such as rats and cats. The bird is now heavily monitored and managed on predator-free islands.

This specimen is believed to have travelled to the museum in the latter half of the 19th century, although its precise history is uncertain. Worcester had become a lively centre for natural history research and learning by this period, with the founding of the Worcestershire Natural History Society and other dedicated groups creating and promoting their own collections.

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Baby boom for world’s rarest parrot

Kakapos are world-famous for their bizarre appearance, and their rarity. With a global population of merely 123 adults, a bumper breeding season looks set to increase their population by nearly a third

By Christina Holvey

2 August 2016

In a land renowned for unusual creatures, New Zealand’s "owl parrot" or kakapo is surely a candidate for the most outrageous. The size of a small dog but with stature of a penguin, this large, rotund bird has an owl shaped head and cat-like whiskers.

Being the heavyweight of the parrot world means the kakapo is flightless, and preferring its own nocturnal company makes it pretty antisocial too. One aspect the kakapo has in common with some of its airborne cousins is extreme longevity, with certain individuals known to live for 120 years.

Befitting a bird that is in it for the long haul they are also notoriously picky breeders, only attempting to reproduce once every three to five years and coinciding with when their favourite food, the fruit of the rimu tree, is in plentiful supply.

Read on … 

New Zealand conservationists celebrate rare parrot breeding success

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.”

Read on ...

12 cool facts about the oddball kakapo

This parrot smells funny, can't fly and takes courtship seriously.

MARY JO DILONARDO

April 6, 2016, 1:27 p.m.

Sirocco has become the ambassador parrot for kakapo conservation. (Photo: Sirocco Kākāpō/Facebook)

The kakapo is an unusual bird. The world's largest parrot was common throughout its native New Zealand until predators hunted it to the brink of extinction. Now the stocky green-and-yellow bird is critically endangered, and it's the focus of a considerable conservation effort from the New Zealand Department of Conservation's Kakapo Recovery program. There are currently 123 known adult birds, each named and extensively monitored.

From its funky facial hair to its elaborate courtship rituals, the kakapo is certainly special. Here are a dozen strange facts about this unique bird.

This bird doesn't really look like a parrot.

The kakapo looks more like an owl. It has a whisker-y face that looks as if it's sporting muttonchops or sideburns.

It's a nocturnal loner.

Its name means "night parrot" in Maori, and it prefers solo nighttime walkabouts. Kakapo Recovery calls the parrot a "midnight rambler" due to its penchant for sleeping all day and wandering through the forest alone at night. These birds typically tuck themselves into a tree alone during the day and head out as a party of one in the evenings to find food. They look for company only when it's time to breed.

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Video and Photo Gallery: A Norwich scientist’s plight to save a rare flightless parrot

Kate Royall

Saturday, December 27, 2014

11:43 AM

Andrew Digby on the one of the islands 

which is home to the Kakapo in New Zealand. 

Adored by a country and loved for its quirkiness the world over, the Kakapo parrot is part of a huge conservation project to save it from extinction. Now one man from Norwich is playing an integral part in its recovery over 11,000 miles away in New Zealand.

Andrew Digby, a former student at the Hewett School, returned to Norwich this week to celebrate Christmas with his parents in Upper Stoke Holy Cross - taking a break from his home on New Zealand’s south island.

The scientist, who works for the country’s Department of Conservation, plays a key role in the Kakapo Recovery Programme which aims to help preserve this unique and irreplaceable bird.

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New Zealand: Landslide kills rare flightless parrot

By News from Elsewhere......media reports from around the world, found by BBC Monitoring

A landslide on a remote island nature reserve has killed Maggie the Kakapo, a critically endangered bird, reducing the size of the population to just 127.

Maggie's remains were found, buried deep in mud and debris, by rangers working for New Zealand's Kakapo Recovery Programme on Codfish Island off the country's South Island, TV3 News reports. The island is home to most of the kakapo breeding population and has been kept free of predators since 1977. The kakapo is perhaps the world's oldest living bird. It's also the heaviest type of parrot and can't fly.

"This is the first death attributed to the forces of nature since the programme began," says programme manager Deidre Vercoe. "And a reminder that they're wild birds living in a wild habitat." Vercoe says it is unfortunate to lose 36-year-old Maggie, a female with many years of breeding ahead of her. Kakapo can live for more than 60 years. Maggie's DNA has been collected and kept along with other samples, in the hope technology will one day allow it to be re-introduced into the future kakapo population, TV3 says.

Continued

Crowds flock for rare glimpse at baby kakapo

Three kakapo chicks have made a rare public appearance in Arrowtown today, aiming to increase public awareness and fundraise for the endangered species.

The three chicks on display today came up from Invercargill as the kakapo population soars, from just 40 birds to 128, under a partnership between the Department of Conservation and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters.

Visitors in Arrowtown had to pay a gold coin donation to see the birds; any contribution counts.

One of the reasons so few kakapo are left is because the mothers have to work extremely hard to raise the chicks.

"She climbs to the top of some very tall rimu trees and forages for some very small rimu beries all night long, and then comes back down to the nest and feeds the chick," said Deidre Vercoe from the Department of Conservation.

After today's viewing the baby birds are headed to Whanua Hau, Codfish Island early next month for around four weeks.

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Kakapo Deaths Drop Population To 128

The celebration of six new kakapo chicks was dampened by the death of kakapos Ben and Taonga.

Jessica Pineda

Sad news for kakapo fans: Two more kakapos died in the past several weeks, dropping the world population down to 128. After a good start to the year with the addition of six new kakapo chicks, the loss of two birds, including a young female, is a stark reminder how few kakapos there are.

On May 5, the Kakapo Recovery posted on their Facebook page, "The kakapo population is less two. Sadly, as we enjoyed the thrill of helping six chicks into the world, we lost Ben (age unknown) and Taonga aged 3. The team is particularly saddened by Taonga's death, as she was a female. Hopefully, we'll know the cause soon.”

Taonga, a 3-year-old female kakapo, 

died in April 2014, according to the 

Kakapo Recovery Facebook page.

Ben was one of the birds found on Stewart Island, New Zealand in the 1977. At the time, researchers believed the entire population consisted of males, until they discovered a group of males and females living on the island. Ben’s age was unknown, but the Kakapo Recovery believed he died from kidney failure.

Taonga’s cause of death hasn’t been determined yet. Before she died, she was emaciated and in bad shape. Researchers hoped to save her by providing supplementary feeding, but the efforts failed, according to the Southland Times.

Read more

BIRD RESCUE: Ranger Repairs Extremely Rare Parrot’s Crushed Egg With Glue And Tape

The internet is abuzz with the long-shot success story of Lisa One, a kakapo parrot chick whose life was saved by New Zealand conservationists after her mother Lisa accidentally crushed her egg.

The pictures show just how delicate and unbelievable the conservationists’ task was – senior kakapo ranger Jo Ledington had to tape the shell of a partially crushed kakapo egg back together and allow the chick within to mature and hatch naturally. They succeeded by using, of all thing, masking tape.

Why was Lisa One’s successful birth so important? Because of how rare the kakapo is – only 125 of the birds exist. Their population was devastated when rats and cats were introduced to New Zealand by European settlers. Before these animals were introduced, the flightless kakapo’s only natural predator was the eagle.

Preserving the kakapo is important not just to maintain New Zealand’s biodiversity, but because they’re truly extraordinary birds. Not only are they the world’s heaviest parrot at 2-4kg, they are also possibly the longest-lived bird in the world, with a life expectancy of 95 years – and some have even lived to 120.

Continued

The very rarest of rare birds

Sirocco is coming back to Orokonui to get you hooked on kakapo conservation, writes Karin Ludwig.

If you did not see kakapo superstar Sirocco when he was at Orokonui Ecosanctuary two years ago, get ready to be amazed. Offering the public the only chance to see a living wild kakapo, he is coming back to Orokonui next month (September 6 to October 6).

At his first appearance at Orokonui in September 2011, Sirocco enchanted more than 1600 people and he correctly picked the All Blacks to win the Rugby World Cup.

What tricks will he get up to this time? Sirocco is one of just 124 kakapo left in the world and he is the only kakapo able to be viewed by the public.

As a small chick Sirocco suffered ill-health and had to be hand-raised, which resulted in his imprinting on humans.

He far prefers the company of people and does not seek out kakapo company.

That makes him the perfect kakapo to go on tour to raise awareness for the conservation of his species. And Sirocco really loves it.

He is naturally curious about people and loves interacting with them. The Department of Conservation, in partnership with New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Ltd and Forest and Bird, is charged with bringing this unique species back from the brink of extinction.

The story of the kakapo's decline is common to many native species.

Introduced predators and habitat loss can reduce a species to only a few animals toughing it out in marginal habitat - in the kakapo's case the remote nooks and crannies of Stewart Island and Fiordland.

Thirty years ago, kakapo numbers were at their lowest, with only 51 individuals rescued from predator-infested last refuges.

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Sirocco the Kakapo to return for a 6 week season in Wellington

Very rare chance to meet a kākāpō

He's big, handsome and one of only 124. Sirocco the kakapo, most famous for apparently mistaking Mark Carwardine as a mate (see video), is returning to Wellington to allow people to see close up just what a fantastic bird he is. 

Despite late viewing hours over 4,300 people came face-to-face with the living legend at Zealandia during his first stay in 2011. This time, Sirocco Encounters can be booked at the earlier times of 6.30pm, 7pm, 7.30pm and 8pm.

"It's a much more family-friendly schedule; we want kids to see kākāpō and learn about the issues Sirocco advocates for on behalf of Kākāpō Recovery" says Zealandia's Education and Visitor Experience Manager Brian Ireland.

Unlike the ugly fall-out from most sex tapes, Sirocco's story is one of heady success. He may not be part of the breeding program but he's making more kākāpō another way; Sirocco has turned the world's eyes on the plight of his species - our critically endangered kākāpō, or ‘parrot of the night', of which there are now only 124 left.

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DoC endangered bird teams to merge

The Department of Conservation is to merge the teams that protect two of the country's most endangered birds.

The Kakapo and Takahe recovery teams will start working together in September, once the department's restructuring plans are finalised.

DOC says it is a sensible, practical way to share knowledge and resources to support the recovery of both species.

The department's director of delivery review, Barry Hanson says merger will allow teams to share scientific and technical expertise and benefit both kakapo and takahe species.

"The synergies of the two programmes are such that I would describe having them work in one team as an improvement rather than as a step back."

But Forest and Bird advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell says the department and the Conservation Minister have backtracked on a promise to ensure restructuring would not affect endangered species.

"Particularly with the kakapo team, we were told the science component would not be reduced, but this is showing that it is. It's being diluted because those people, those positions, are going to have to now cover two quite demanding species."

Listen to Kevin Hackwell and DoC manager Andy Roberts on Nine to Noon

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/136345/doc-endangered-bird-teams-to-merge

No Kakapo breeding this year due to cold weather

There will be no new kakapo this year due to the failure of the rimu crop

Hopes dashed for Anchor Island kākāpō breeding

April 2013. Hopes for a successful breeding season for kakapo on Anchor Island were dashed prior to Christmas, following the discovery that, due to a particularly cold southern spring (Sounds familiar), the rimu fruit crop had been hit hard.

Codfish Island
With a similar scene playing out on Codfish Island - home to the main breeding population - there will be no additions to the current population of 125 kākāpō. Females need to know there will be enough rimu fruit available to feed their chicks before they will mate - this year they showed very little interest at all.

New Zealand Department of Conservation staff and volunteers spent the summer season monitoring birds and identifying their territories, maintaining the trapping network on the island and surrounding islands, and working on infrastructure in preparation for future seasons when rimu does ripen and breeding occurs.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/kakapo-2013.html