New Zealand’s rare kakapo parrot population booms
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Conservation efforts in New Zealand helped the kakapo, a critically endangered parrot, experience a successful breeding season this year.
The population increased from 235 to 325 birds, the highest number in 75 years. Kakapo nearly disappeared due to introduced predators after humans arrived on the islands, dwindling to just 51 individuals in the 1990s. These parrots reproduce only when a specific tree, the rimu, produces fruit, occurring every two to four years.
Male kakapo attract females by digging pits and emitting low-frequency calls that travel for kilometers. This year, 90 new chicks hatched, representing nearly a 40 percent increase in the population. Each kakapo receives a name, and one male, Blades, proved particularly successful, fathering 22 offspring, 15 percent of the entire population during his breeding years. Conservationists have moved Blades and other experienced males to a different island to continue the species’ recovery.
Kakapo can live a long time, potentially reaching 100 years old.
