The 2019 kākāpō breeding season was one for the record books, but it had more than its fair share of problems, including the fact that more than half of the eggs laid were infertile.
It’s an ongoing issue, not helped by the birds’ low genetic diversity. The Kākāpō Recovery team are using artificial insemination as part of their genetic matchmaking efforts, and have turned to a drone to speed the process of sperm delivery.
Join Alison Ballance on an audio adventure through the biggest kākāpō breeding season on record.
Andrew Digby with a kākāpō called Sinbad, who has important Fiordland genes. Photo: Andrew Digby / DOC
You can subscribe to the Kākāpō Files as a podcast - for free - at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, iHeartRADIO and RadioPublic.
If you would like to know more about kākāpō you can follow the Kākāpō Recovery Programme on Facebook and Instagram. Kākāpō scientist Andrew Digby is on Twitter. Or check out the book Kākāpō - rescued from the brink of extinction by Alison Ballance.
Listen to the full series
Voice of the Kākāpō 1: Kākāpō - night parrot
Voice of the Kākāpō 2: Whenua Hou, kākāpō island
Voice of the Kākāpō 3: Nest checks
Voice of the Kākāpō 4: Promise
Voice of the Kākāpō 5: Kākāpō sperm takes to the air
Voice of the Kākāpō 6: Kākāpō chicks
Voice of the Kākāpō 7: Dark days
Voice of the Kākāpō 8: Success
