Claire Concannon and Dr Andrew Digby talk about all things kākāpō: that habitat trial and where the birds are now, the next breeding season, and Andrew’s hopes for the future of this iconic manu.  

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In July 2023 four male kākāpō were released into the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari – part of a new habitat trial to investigate suitable locations for the growing kākāpō population. But after a further six were introduced, the kākāpō began to wander – beyond the fence. A year on, and several escapes later, what’s been learned? And what’s next for kākāpō in Maungatautari?

There are plenty of night-time wanderers in New Zealand that you might expect to come across driving on back roads – rats, mice, a seemingly endless number of possums.

But it’s not often that you round a corner to come face to face with a kākāpō.

Elwin’s escapade

This was the surprising sight that faced Tyler James Lindsay very early one morning in January 2024.

A Cambridge local, Tyler was driving a milk tanker along Scott Road, northeast of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, when suddenly he saw before him a strange shape.

“Just a big green bird. Just in the middle of the road looking straight at my lights, I think it was rather confused,” he says.

Luckily, Tyler is into native birds, so he was aware that kākāpō had been introduced to the fenced sanctuary six months earlier. He knew exactly what he was looking at.

The next day, Tyler’s report made its way to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari kākāpō ranger Dan Howie, who quickly began the search for the elusive Elwin.

“Such an incredible interaction that he saw this bird out there – in the middle of the road no less – which is absolutely terrifying as kākāpō ranger,” says Dan.

But this was not the first time, nor the last, that Dan would feel that fear.

The habitat trial

Kākāpō numbers are growing. In 1995 there were just 51 kākāpō and the threat of losing them forever was all too real.

A decade ago, around the time that Dr Andrew Digby joined the Kākāpō Recovery team, there were just over 120 kākāpō. Today there are 247.

Intensive management and three quite successful breeding seasons have enabled this doubling of kākāpō numbers in the last 10 years. Initially, the challenge was to save the charismatic, flightless parrots from extinction. Now, the team also has an added challenge: where to put them.

To date, the majority of kākāpō have lived on offshore predator-free islands in the rohe of Ngāi Tahu – Whenua Hou / Codfish Island next to Rakiura / Stewart Island, and Pukenui / Anchor Island in Fiordland. But these islands are getting full…

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The youngest kākāpō chick has passed 150 days old, bringing the number of living juveniles to 71 and the overall kākāpō population to 213, in episode 24 of the Kākāpō Files.

The kākāpō population has reached a new high of 213 birds, following the largest breeding season on record. This is a significant increase from the 147 birds that were alive at the beginning of the season.

The new total includes a record-breaking 71 juvenile birds.

Department of Conservation's Kākāpō Recovery Team scientist Dr Andrew Digby says: "there are probably more kākāpō alive today than at any time in the past 70 years."

Kākāpō Recovery manager Deidre Vercoe says the next challenge will be to find new predator-free homes for the giant endangered parrots, as the two main breeding islands are at capacity.

The 2018-2019 kākāpō breeding season has been one for the record books in many ways. It kicked off in December 2018 with the earliest mating on record, and by the time mating ended in April it was also the longest breeding season.

Breeding occurred on two of the three kākāpō islands - Whenua Hou / Codfish Island and Anchor Island, where every adult female except one bred.

Overall, 253 eggs were laid, although only 86 hatched, due to high levels of infertility and early embryo deaths.

Of those 86, 72 reached 150 days old, which is when they are considered to have graduated from being a chick to a juvenile. Stella-3-B was the last chick to reach the 150-day milestone on 17 September.

Juveniles will not be counted as adults until they reach breeding age, at five years old.

Number of aspergillosis deaths rises to 8

The current total of living juveniles is now 71, following the unexpected death last week of Margaret-Maree-2-B. A post-mortem showed he had died from aspergillosis, despite receiving an all-clear from the vets when an earlier CT scan showed no sign of the disease.

Kākāpō scientist Andrew Digby says they are investigating closely, to try and find out whether the medical check-up had missed a small infection or whether the juvenile contracted the deadly fungal disease after the check-up. He says the latter scenario would be very concerning, as all infections to date were associated with infected nests.

Margaret-Maree-2-B was one of three chicks conceived by artificial insemination. Nora-3-B, whose father is the Fiordland male Sinbad, is the only one of these three still alive.

The death of Margaret-Maree-2-B brings the total number of kākāpō killed by aspergillosis to 8, including adult females Huhana and Hoki, as well as six chicks…

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The kākāpō chicks are graduating to being juveniles and only seven birds are still sick with aspergillosis, in episode 23 of the Kākāpō Files.

Forty-two of this year's kākāpō chicks have graduated to being juveniles. They pass this milestone when they reach 150 days old.

A further 30 chicks will reach the juvenile stage over the coming weeks.

Eight kākāpō chicks have been cured of aspergillosis, and will soon be returned to the wild.

Daryl Eason from the Kākāpō Recovery Team at the Department of Conservation says there are still 18 birds being treated at various wildlife hospitals. Eight of these will soon be discharged, seven are still being treated for the fungal disease aspergillosis, and a further five are being treated for noon-aspergillosis related conditions.

Alice-3-A was one of the first kākāpō chicks to be diagnosed with aspergillosis in May, and at the time she was diagnosed with multiple granulomas, which are walled-off areas of fungal infection. She has responded well to treatment, and her lungs and respiratory system are now clear of infection.

Auckland Zoo vet James Chatterton told Daryl that he is amazed, as he has never encountered a bird with audible respiratory problems of this intensity that has recovered.

Ra-2-B was found on Anchor Island with one leg caught in the fork of a tree, leading to severe dislocation and loss of circulation to that leg. She is being treated at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital, and although her circulation has been mostly restored she may lose several toes. Daryl says it will be some time before the skin recovers and it becomes clear whether the tendons will recover from the trauma.

Queenie-3-A, who had a broken leg, has now fully recovered and will be returned to the wild soon.

Daryl reports that some juveniles, such as Suzanne-3-A, are now fully independent in the wild, have left their mothers and siblings and are ranging widely as they explore the islands.

He says the final official tally of how many chicks were produced in this year's breeding won't happen until everyone has been discharged from the vet hospitals.

Gadget the rodent detector dog

The story about conservation dog Gadget first played on Our Changing World. It was recorded on Whenua Hou and highlights the efforts that go into keeping pests off New Zealand's conservation islands.

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Paternity testing has revealed who the top kākāpō dads are, as well as the success of the artificial insemination programme, in episode 22 of the Kākāpō Files.

Artificial insemination (AI) of kākāpō has succeeded for the first time in a decade, and the Kākāpō Recovery Team at the Department of Conservation is very happy with the results.

Paternity testing has revealed that five eggs were successfully fertilised with inseminated sperm from three males, although two eggs died as early embryos and one chick died at just a few days old.

There are two surviving AI chicks, one of which is fathered by Sinbad, a male containing rare Fiordland genes which contribute important genetic diversity to a threatened species that has low genetic diversity overall.

Paternity testing has also revealed that two young males are star performers in what has been a record-breaking breeding season: Komaru and Horton have each fathered ten chicks.

Seven months after the largest kākāpō breeding season on record got off to a racing start, we finally have an answer to an outstanding question: who some of the kākāpō dads are.

Many female kākāpō mate with two and even three males, and in these cases genetic testing has to be used to determine who has fathered the chicks. It is also necessary to use genetic testing to determine fatherhood in the case of females who were inseminated with donor sperm after they had mated naturally.

The paternity testing is carried out by Agresearch using a process called genotyping by sequencing, drawing on genetic markers developed for kākāpō by Professor Bruce Robertson at the University of Otago.

Artificial insemination results

The kākāpō team, with help from German experts from the University of Giesen, carried out 15 artificial inseminations on 13 different females, and succeeded with three females.

Nora was successfully inseminated with Sinbad's sperm and two of her three fertile eggs were fathered by him (her third egg was fathered by Tutuko in a natural mating). Nora-1-B unfortunately died a few days after hatching. Nora 3-B is still alive but he is currently being treated for an aspergillosis infection.

Cyndy was successfully fertilised with sperm from founder male Merv, but the two fertile eggs died when they were about eight days old.

Margaret-Maree has an AI male chick fathered by Stumpy.

More interesting AI results

As well as revealing who the father is in cases of multiple matings, paternity testing has revealed some unusual results.

Tumeke mated with both Te Atapo and Boss, and for the first time ever in a natural clutch the chicks have mixed parentage: one chick was fathered by Boss and three by Te Atapo…

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The kākāpō health crisis is stable, with no further cases of aspergillosis diagnosed, and seven hand-reared chicks have been successfully released in the wild, in episode 21 of the Kākāpō Files.

Seven hand-reared kākāpō chicks have been released into the wild on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, where they are doing well.

They are the oldest kākāpō chicks from this bumper breeding season. There are currently 72 living kākāpō chicks.

There are no new deaths in the aspergillosis disease outbreak which has claimed the lives of two adults and five chicks. Staff from the Kākāpō Recovery Programme at the Department of Conservation and zoo vets around the country are playing a waiting game, as a number of chicks and adults continue to be treated for the severe infection.

DOC is increasingly confident that they have identified all sick birds, as growing numbers of kākāpō mums sent to vet hospitals for CT scans are returning to Whenua Hou with clean bills of health.

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Kākāpō death toll from aspergillosis rises by one to seven, while nine birds have been given a clean bill of health. Sad and positive news from the frontline of the fight to save kākāpō, in episode 20 of the Kākāpō Files.

The death toll from the aspergillosis health crisis in the kākāpō population has risen to seven, but nine birds suspected of having the fungal disease have been given the all-clear.

Deidre Vercoe, manager of the Department of Conservation's Kākāpō Recovery team, says she is delighted with the good news that the nine birds are healthy and will shortly be returned to the wild.

The most recent kākāpō death happened yesterday during a medical procedure at Auckland Zoo as part of chick Nora-1-A's treatment for a severe case of aspergillosis.

In response to the health crisis, kākāpō fans around the world have responded by donating more than NZ$100,000 to an 'aspergillosis fund".

The first case of aspergillosis in the kākāpō population was detected in late April, and since then 36 birds have been sent to veterinary hospitals around the country for diagnosis and treatment.

James Chatterton, veterinary manager at the New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine at Auckland Zoo, say the situation is still " very dynamic," and while many birds appear to have respiratory lesions in their lungs it is still not clear whether all of them have aspergillosis or whether other infections might be involved.

The seven deaths from the disease so far include two adult females, Hoki and Huhana, along with five chicks.

Seventeen kākāpō are currently being treated for aspergillosis, while a further two chicks are waiting for a diagnosis. This includes two adult females, Margaret-Maree and Cyndy, that have been diagnosed with severe aspergillosis, while adult females Ihi and Weheruatanga-o-te-Po have a borderline diagnosis

The healthy birds that have been given a clean bill of health are the adult female Pounamu, four chicks from Anchor Island and a further four from Whenua Hou, including Roha-3-A who was sent to Massey University's Wildbase Hospital for testing just last week.

Deidre says she hopes this means they are seeing the limits of the infection amongst birds, "which would be encouraging."

The total population of kākāpō is currently 142 adults and 72 living chicks.

Donations pouring in

Deidre says she is overwhelmed that kākāpō fans from around the world have responded to the current health crisis by donating more than NZ$100,000 to an 'aspergillosis fund.'

"It's a pretty fantastic response."…

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The number of cases of aspergillosis in the kākāpō population continues to rise, with 30 birds on the mainland for testing & treatment. The deaths of Huhana and Merty drop the adult population to 142, in episode 19 of the Kākāpō Files.

The number of cases of aspergillosis in the kākāpō population continues to rise. The fungal disease has already caused the deaths of two adult females and three chicks, and it has now been confirmed in a further two adult females and six chicks.

Twenty two kākāpō are already in veterinary hospitals for testing and treatment of aspergillosis as well as other medical conditions, and they are about to be joined by a further eight birds from Whenua Hou / Codfish Island.

The disease continues to be confined to Whenua Hou. Four chicks from Anchor Island are in treatment but do not have aspergillosis.

The adult kākāpō population has dropped to 142 birds, following the death of 10-year-old Huhana, while the founder male Merty has been declared dead after not being seen for five years. There are 73 living chicks.

The adult females Hoki and Huhana have already died from aspergillosis, while Weheruatanga-O-Te-Po and Margaret-Maree have been confirmed with the disease. A number of chicks, including Nora-1-A and Pura-1-B, have also been confirmed with the fungal infection.

The female Pounamu has tested negative for aspergillosis.

Four chicks from Anchor island that were sent to Massey University's Wildbase Hospital with suspected aspergillosis following unexplained weight loss have been CT scanned and are negative for the disease.

The founder male Merv is being sent off Whenua Hou for ophthalmological treatment for suspected cataracts in both eyes.

The six youngest chicks that were still in nests on Whenua Hou have been brought into a pen for hand-rearing, in an effort to remove them from nests that may contain high numbers of aspergillosis spores following a warm, wet autumn.

Update 3 JUNE

The founder female Cyndy and a further four chicks have been sent to the mainland with suspected aspergillosis, bringing the number of birds in treatment to 35.

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A spate of kākāpō chicks deaths from a fungal pneumonia caused by aspergillosis has DOC's Kākāpō Recovery Team very worried. Two further adult deaths bring the population to 144 birds with 73 living chicks, all in episode 18 of the Kākāpō Files.

The fungal disease aspergillosis has caused the deaths of three kākāpō chicks in the past week. This is in addition to an adult kākāpō which died from the same disease just over two weeks ago.

The fearsome fungus has the Department of Conservation's Kākāpō Recovery Team and wildlife vets around the world scrambling to understand what is causing the outbreak, which is unprecedented for the rare parrot.

A further chick and two adult males have also died from other causes in the past fortnight, dropping the kākāpō population to 144 adults and 73 living chicks.

Five kākāpō are currently at Auckland Zoo for investigation and treatment for possible aspergillosis. These include the adult female Weheruatanga-o-te-po and the chick Awarua-3-A.

Auckland Zoo vets carried out CT scans on four of these birds yesterday and are currently waiting for a veterinary radiology specialist in the United States to read the scans.

Auckland Zoo vet Dr James Chatterton, from the New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine, says that spores of the aspergillus fungus are ubiquitous in the environment, and only become a problem in stressed and immunocompromised animals.

However, the number of chicks succumbing to the disease after sharing a nest with other infected birds is causing alarm amongst wildlife vets and the Kākāpō Conservation team.

The problem is confined to Whenua Hou Island. There were initial concerns that artificial nest boxes might be contributing to the problem, but it is most prevalent in natural nest cavities.

The adult female Hoki was the first kākāpō to succumb to the disease. Since then, three chicks have also died from aspergillosis: Bella-2-A, Tumeke-4-A and Queenie-4-A.

Daryl Eason says all three chicks "were looking very good until very close to death, and they've all died from aspergillosis."

Aspergillosis is a very difficult disease to treat, says James Chatterton.

"One of the many frustrating problems when we're dealing with fungal infections in birds, is that often by the time the bird shows that it's sick, so by the time it looks lethargic and it's got breathing problems, often by then it's far too late to actually cure it," says James.

"And diagnosing it before the bird looks sick is extremely difficult."

Chick Waikawa-4-B also died this week, and Daryl says her death was not due to aspergillosis and "was an absolute mystery."…

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The death of Hoki from a fungal infection brings the number of adult kākāpō to 146, while there are 77 chicks. Episode 17 of the Kākāpō Files includes a visit to Anchor Island & all the latest news.

There is good news as well as sad news from the kākāpō islands. Hoki, the first hand-reared kākāpō, has died from a fungal infection, while a surprise third nest from the female Solstice boosted overall egg numbers to 252.

Of 86 kākāpō chicks that hatched this breeding season, 77 are still alive.

Of the 73 chicks that have been sexed, there are 35 females and 38 males.

There is a wide age range of chicks: the youngest chicks are less than two weeks old, while the oldest chicks are fledging and leaving their nests.

The latest numbers

With the sad loss of 27-year-old female Hoki, the adult kākāpō population is now 146 birds. Hoki died from a severe aspergillosis fungal infection in her lungs.

Hoki's foster chick Bella-1-A also succumbed to an aspergillosis infection.

A surprise third nest from Solstice, discovered on Easter Friday, brought the total number of eggs laid this season to 252. Unfortunately the three eggs were all infertile.

One hundred and eighteen eggs were fertile, and 86 chicks hatched.

There are currently 77 chicks alive.

Seventy three chicks have been sexed, and there are 38 males and 35 females. Of the chicks with Fiordland genes, Kuia's second clutch are males, while Gulliver and Suzanne's clutch includes one female and two males.

There is a wide age range of chicks. Sixteen of the oldest chicks have fledged and left their nests, while the youngest chicks, from Stella's second clutch, are still less than two weeks old.

The eight hand-reared chicks are currently in weaning pens on Whenua Hou, learning how to survive in the bush.

Four chicks and the adult male Arab are currently receiving vet care at Auckland Zoo and the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital.

Medical news

Chick Queenie-3-A has been taken off Anchor Island as it is experiencing issues with the leg that it broke when it was three days old.

Waikawa-4-B is being treated for a respiratory issue.

Esperance-1-B has had brain surgery to treat the brain hernia where its skull plates hadn't joined properly.

Auckland Zoo vets are still deciding what to do with the damaged eye of the adult male Arab.

Update 2 May 2019

The death of the founder male Arab, from surgical complications, brings the adult kākāpō population to 145.

DOC's Kākāpō Recovery Programme senior technical officer says that the female Solstice is now fostering the chick Kuihi=3-B. This is the first time she has raised a chick and Daryl says she is feeding it well…

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With 75 living chicks and the final three eggs due to hatch this week, the 2019 kākāpō breeding season is set to be the longest on record.

The number of living kākāpō chicks has risen to 75, with the final three due to hatch this week.

The oldest chicks are already beginning to leave their nests at night although they are still returning to sleep there during the day.

Daryl Eason, from the Department of Conservation's Kākāpō Recovery team, says that the sex ratio of the first 49 chicks to be tested is 22 females and 27 males.

The technique for determining the gender of kākāpō, using either a small blood sample or tiny amounts of membrane left in the eggshell after hatching, was developed by Associate Professor Bruce Robertson at the University of Otago.

This season, a genomics team at Agresearch is carrying out the DNA analyses to determine both gender and paternity of all the chicks. Jeanne Jacobs says the team is currently determining the paternity of the chicks, which will prove whether any of the artificial insemination attempts have been successful. The scientists will also determine the gender of the remaining chicks.

As well as analysing living chicks, sex and paternity is also determined for dead chicks and failed fertile eggs.

The long breeding season

The first chick of the 2019 breeding season hatched on 30 January, and with the final one due to hatch this Friday 19 April, this breeding season will hold the records for both the earliest start and latest end to a breeding season.

Scientist Andrew Digby says the extended breeding season is the result of a large number of females renesting.

The total number of chicks hatched so far in this year's bumper kākāpō breeding season is 83, and if three eggs due to hatch this week are successful it will bring the total number of chicks for this breedign season to 86. The remaining eggs were laid by Stella, who was the last female to mate.

There have been 8 chick deaths. The most recent chick death is Pura-3-A, who died suddenly. Cause of death is still being determined, but appears to be liver failure.

Two of the chicks in Hoki's nest have been moved to other nests after their growth rates slowed down. Hoki herself now weighs less than a kilogram, while her three chicks together weighed four kilograms, and Daryl Eason says she was probably just struggling to feed them. The kākāpō team will be giving her a health check and hope that she will be able to cope with her one remaining foster chick.

Leaving home

The first wild kākāpō chicks on Anchor Island are beginning to explore away from the nest at night, although they return during the day to sleep…

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