A successful season awaits for Kākāpō. Photo: RNZ
The summer season is expected to bring a record number of Kākāpō chicks, according to conservation scientists.
Auckland University's Kākāpō Recovery Group believes breeding-age females may lay eggs, making it the most successful season in nearly five decades.
Currently, the nocturnal parrots are in four predator-free sanctuaries, but Auckland University professor Jacqueline Beggs, who chairs the group, said growth would require new habitats.
University of Auckland Professor Jacqueline Beggs. Photo: Supplied / University of Auckland
A successful breeding season depended on both the amount of fruit on rimu trees and all female parrots being in good breeding condition, something that was not common.
Professor Beggs said the Kākāpō was one of the few critically endangered species to make a genuine recovery and the group now hoped for chicks from all 84 breeding-age females.
This would significantly boost the population of the flightless native parrot, which currently sat at 237 birds.
The last big breeding season was in 2022, when 57 chicks fledged.
Mating was expected to take place about Christmas and January. The eggs would then be laid in February and March, hatching a month later.
About next September and October, the chicks should be independent and would be officially added to the parrot's population.
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