Kakapo season 2013-14

One of Huhana's eggs has hatched and one of Heather's eggs was transferred to Codfish.

Another kakapo hatchling on Codfish Island is on the horizon after an egg was carried from Little Barrier Island at the weekend.

The egg is one of five due to hatch on Codfish Island within the next week.

Te Anau-based takahe and kakapo ranger Glen Greaves escorted the egg from Little Barrier Island, 80 kilometres northeast of Auckland, on Saturday.

The egg, which was 21 days into its 30-day gestation period, was taken from Little Barrier kakapo Heather because she had two eggs and removing one would give a second chick a better rate of survival.

Eggs were more likely to be damaged on the nest if there was more than one egg and if both chicks hatched, one would not get the support from its mother it needed.

Rangers waited for the mother kakapo to go feeding during the night, then swooped in for the egg.

It was flown to Codfish Island in a portable incubator encased in a polystyrene container full of cotton wool.

There were about six potential kakapo mothers on Codfish Island who were sitting on non-fertile eggs.

Rangers were watching to see how well the kakapo were sitting on the eggs before deciding which would become the adopted mum of the new addition.

Kakapo Recovery Programme manager Deidre Vercoe Scott said it was a long way to transfer an egg but it was better than the alternative. Breeding on the two secure islands would see the long-term security of the kakapo population.

The first kakapo chick - Lisa One - to hatch anywhere in three years emerged from a cracked egg held together by tape and glue on Codfish Island last week.
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There were six chicks last time they updated.

Heather on Little Barrier Island has one chick in the nest and one that was removed to Codfish.

Esperance whose eggs were infertile was fostering Rakiura Two.

Rakiura was fostering Huhana Two.

Rakiura Three was last to hatch.

Answer to a question about why Rakiura was fostering another's chick.

Of the four still on nests, Rakiura is the most experienced. Huhana hasn't raised a chick before, Esperance has raised one and Aranga has had a chick but wasn't very good at feeding.
So as each chick from an incubator is deemed healthy enough to go on a nest, they go to Rakiura first so she can teach them to feed...and the whole process becomes like musical chairs, with chicks swapped about depending on their experience and the mother's experience...
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OrangePerson said:
At 5 yrs old Huhana (caring for Huhana Two) is the youngest known to have bred.
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And when you consider the age the species can reach, this rather demonstrates that although the slow breeding rate will mean it will take a long time, if a positive population trend can be maintained the species will hopefully be okay.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
And when you consider the age the species can reach, this rather demonstrates that although the slow breeding rate will mean it will take a long time, if a positive population trend can be maintained the species will hopefully be okay.
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It is a mind boggling length of time to potentially be able to breed over.
 
Lucky people in easy reach of Auckland!

An update on Heather One...the surprise chick hatched on Hauturu O Toi/Little Barrier Island: Heather One wasn't doing too well and it's survival was hanging in the balance. So the chick was flown to the NZ Centre for Conservation Medicine at Auckland Zoo where it's been cared for for several weeks...now with its future secure, there are plans to allow public viewing of Heather One, starting in May!
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Also there is a nest cam (have not got it to work yet)

Live nest cam
 
kākāpō recovery and zoo team up to save kākāpō chick

Worth visiting the link for some video (familiar looking vet!)

This years chicks have been sexed as four males and two females.

A critically ill 10-day old kākāpō chick flown from Hauturu o Toi (Little Barrier Island) to Auckland in late March is now thriving at Auckland Zoo following an intensive team effort by Zoo and Department of Conservation (DOC) Kākāpō Recovery staff.
'Heather One', one of six kākāpō successfully bred this season, and the first chick to hatch on Hauturu o Toi since kākāpō were reintroduced there in 2012, was severely underweight and failing to grow, putting her life in jeopardy.
Mother Heather's inability to access enough ripe natural food to feed her chick and stormy weather from Cyclone Lusi are thought to have been likely contributing factors to Heather One's shaky start to life.
"It's incredible to see how she's pulled through in the five weeks she's been here. It was touch and go for a while, but kākāpō are incredibly hardy birds," says Auckland Zoo's senior vet, James Chatterton.
"We've had the combined skills of our vet team, keepers with kākāpō experience, the expertise of DOC's Hauturu kākāpō ranger Leigh Joyce, and invaluable support from the South Island-based Kākāpō Recovery team providing Heather One with around-the-clock care. It's really been an amazing team effort to get her health back on track," says Dr Chatterton.
Heather One, who hatched on 12 March, now weighs almost 1 kg (close to average for her age) and is becoming more active and vocal by the day.
From Saturday 3 May (11am-3pm daily) at the Zoo's NZCCM viewing gallery, visitors will be able to view into the surgery room where Heather One is being cared for.
Kākāpō Recovery is a partnership between DOC, the New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS), and Forest & Bird.
DOC Kākāpō Recovery programme manager, Deidre Vercoe, says the chick will remain at the Zoo for the next week or so until test results confirm she has a clean bill of health and can be integrated with other kākāpō chicks.
"Once we get the all-clear, we'll move Heather One to our Invercargill facility to join two other chicks that are also being hand-reared before we look to release them onto Whenua Hou(Codfish Island). In the meantime, we're delighted that Zoo visitors have the opportunity to see and learn more about this extraordinary bird that we're working hard to ensure has a healthy future," says Ms Vercoe.
The Kākāpō Recovery manager says the successful breeding of six chicks (four males and two females) this season increases the world's kākāpō population to 128 birds.
"We're absolutely stoked that breeding has occurred so soon after transferring a small number of birds to Hauturu O Toi. The island could play a significant role in the long term security of the kākāpō population."
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Two kakapo have died, cause not yet known. Ben (age unknown) and female Taonga (age three)

Population = 128
 
Ben was a Stewart Island bird and his death appears to be age related.

Kakapo deaths hit endangered species

The critically endangered kakapo species has lost two of its precious population.

After the celebrated arrival of six new chicks into the flock this season, two adults birds have died on Codfish Island. The rare and much loved parrots now have a world population of 128.

Kakapo Recovery programme manager Deidre Vercoe Scott said the two kakapo died several weeks ago in separate circumstances. The news was held until tests could be done to determine the cause of their deaths.

Kakapo Ben was one of the original founder birds transferred to Codfish Island from Stewart Island.

Although his exact age was unknown, he was old, Vercoe Scott said.

"Ben was winding down in recent seasons and was probably at the end of his lifespan."

Kakapo live for more than 60 years.

An autopsy revealed Ben's death may have been related to kidney failure as a result of old age. More critical to the survival of the kakapo was the death of 3-year-old female Taonga.

"As a young female, Taonga potentially had 60 years of breeding ahead of her," Vercoe Scott said.

Further tests were needed to determined the cause of death.

"She was really emaciated and in poor condition which may have made her susceptible to disease or the elements," Vercoe Scott said.

Taonga was brought in from the wild and attempts were made to use supplementary feeding to help improve her condition. However her weight dropped further and she died, she said.

It was important to continue to find out what caused the breeding female's death, Vercoe Scott said. "Every death was a learning opportunity. We could discover steps to put in place to prevent further deaths."

Nearly 40 per cent of the kakapo population were older birds of unknown age.

The Kakapo Recovery programme was working with West Virginia University in the United States to help work out the age of the kakapo.

"We are collecting small skin samples from the birds and sending them to the university. Using the chemical compound pentosidine found in the parrots' protein, scientists can compare the results to kakapo with a known age," Vercoe Scott said.
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Sad news - from Facebook

Poor Maggie - the second female kakapo ever to be discovered on Stewart Island, in 1980, has been killed in a landslide on Codfish Island. Believed to be about 36 years old, she had four nesting attempts but had yet to produce any viable eggs. Luckily her DNA has been cryopreserved...
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Now 127 birds.
 
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