Critically endangered kākāpō – the world's fattest parrot – has record breeding season
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... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/17/critically-endangered-kakapo-the-worlds-fattest-parrot-has-record-breeding-season