Kakapo Recovery
The kakapo is the rarest parrot in the world. It’s flightless, it’s the world’s heaviest parrot, it’s possibly the oldest living bird and it has a subsonic mating boom that can travel several kilometres, just to name a few things! Countless people are trying to save the kakapo from the brink of extinction.
A ground-dwelling parrot that lived on the isolated landmass of New Zealand for thousands of years, the kakapo evolved into one of the world’s most remarkable birds. However with human colonisation, and the introduction of predators such as stoats, cats, rats and dogs, the species plummeted towards extinction. By 1995, there were only 50 known kakapo surviving, on a handful of small island sanctuaries.
Today, with a world population of 124 and a comprehensive Kakapo Recovery Programme underway, the kakapo is on its first tentative steps to recovery.
Management of the kakapo today is being guided by the Kakapo Recovery Plan. The current plan runs from 2006-2016, and outlines four key goals for the species.
1. Maximise recruitment in the kakapo population.
2. Minimise the loss of genetic diversity in the kakapo population
3. Secure, restore or maintain sufficient habitat to accommodate the expected increase in the kakapo population.
THE VISION
Ultimately, the Kakapo Recovery Plan has a vision for the species:
“To restore the mauri (life-force) of kakapo by having at least 150 adult females.”
Today, kakapo are being kept on two islands: Codfish Island (Whenua Hou) and Anchor Island, Dusky Sound, both of which are free of predators. In 1998, the Department of Conservation undertook a major rat eradication project on Codfish Island (Whenua Hou) and, in 2001, completed a stoat eradication on Anchor Island. This means that both are suitable as long-term sanctuaries for kakapo.
However, there is presently no large predator-free island capable of holding more than 100 kakapo, where the birds might be able to look after themselves. The lack of such a sanctuary could become an obstacle if kakapo breeding continues successfully. So, in the future, a suitable large island needs to be selected and cleared of introduced predators. Ultimately, a distant dream is to be able to reintroduce kakapo to the mainland.
