Bumper breeding season for endangered kakapo

Kakapo numbers could top a century with what looks set to be a bumper breeding season on Whenua Hou (Codfish Island), the Conservation Department said.

Already boasting the laying of one fertile kakapo egg on the island and with conditions similar to 2002, when a record 24 chicks hatched, the department is hopeful the kakapo population would be boosted from 90 birds to more than 100.

Kakapo Recovery team leader Deidre Vercoe said the promising outlook was a result of more females reaching breeding age and the high level of rimu fruiting on the island.

Out of the 38 breeding-age females, five had mated so far. If more than 80 per cent mate then it could result in as many as 40 chicks. Infertility has been one of the biggest reproductive issues facing the breeding programme but Ms Vercoe said the kakapo team was hopeful for a season like last year's when there was 100 per cent fertility. "While we are planning for the best, we are also mindful that this is nature, and factors beyond our control could limit results," Ms Vercoe said.

The department was optimistic this season would bring some genetic diversity through Richard Henry's offspring. Richard Henry was the only surviving kakapo from Fiordland and, until this year, his sons, Sinbad and Gulliver, had not set themselves up a booming site or attracted a female.

Evidence indicates Sinbad has managed to do so and fingers were crossed Gulliver finds himself a mate soon too, she said.

Conservation Minister Tim Groser said it was an exciting time. 

- © Fairfax NZ News