Kākāpō chicks still hatching

Kākāpō Files

Most of the 72 kākāpō chicks are thriving in wild nests, the males are winding down their booming, and there are 7 fertile eggs still to hatch.

Ripe rimu fruits carpet the trees and ground on Whenua Hou and Anchor islands, and most of the 72 living kākāpō chicks are in wild nests, where they are being well-fed by their foster mums. The chicks are putting on lots of weight and are well above average on the kākāpō 'Plunket' charts.

Deidre Vercoe, manager of the Kākāpō Recovery Team from the Department of Conservation, says a grand total of 249 eggs were laid in this bumper kākāpō season. "It's a staggering number," says Deidre.

The total number of chicks hatched so far in this year's bumper kākāpō breeding season is 79, and there have been seven chick deaths. There are still seven fertile eggs, which are due to hatch between now and Easter.

Deidre says she is "very happy with where we are at the moment."

Five kākāpō mums are raising clutches of three chicks, and most other nests have two chicks.

Queenie-3-A, the chick that had a broken leg, has completely healed and is being returned to a wild nest on Anchor Island.

Eight chicks are being hand-reared in Invercargill.

Kākāpō scientist Andrew Digby says that male kākāpō are still booming but are beginning to wind down. He says the males are starting to scrap amongst themselves, and he hears a lot of skrarking at night.

Our Changing World kākāpō stories:

• What kākāpō genes can tell us
• Kākāpō sperm collection and artificial insemination in the 2009 breeding season
• The discovery of the ‘lost’ kākāpō Rangi and the frozen sperm bank, from the 2009 breeding season
• Science in kākāpō management, from the 2009 breeding season

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details