Kakapos Reproducing After Three-Year Hiatus
by Frances Gavin
Posted on May 30, 2002
Female kakapos members of one of the rarest bird species in the world recently started laying eggs for the first time in three years.
There currently are only 62 living kakapos. All of the breeding females are on Whenua Hou, a specially protected island nature reserve located off the coast of New Zealand.
Conservationists working on the island believe that the eradication of rats, which prey upon kakapos, and providing walnuts and almonds for the birds to eat have enabled them to once again begin reproducing.
"Its just amazing," said Kakapo Recovery Team Leader Paul Jansen. "We have not had any eggs for three seasons and we have 47 eggs today. We could go as high as 60, which is virtually doubling the population. This is the best kakapo
breeding season we are aware of."
In order to ensure the well-being of chicks that hatch, video cameras have been trained on every nest.
"We expect that at least 50 percent of the eggs will successfully hatch," said Jansen. "If this breeding season continues in the way it has started, in three to five years we will be able to reduce the human intervention needed to ensure the survival of this species. That is the ultimate aim of any recovery program."
Sources
Kakapo Recovery Programme
Ananova
© 2002 Animal News Center, Inc. - Reprinted with permission.
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