In the final episode in our kakapo series we find out about the daily routine of some of the many people involved in kakapo management on Whenua Hou - Codfish Island. At the height of this year's breeding season there were up to 34 people on the island, including kakapo rangers and other members of the National Kakapo team, and many volunteers involved in both the supplementary feeding programme and in 'nest minding' duties.
The focus has now moved away from the island as 26 chicks are being hand-reared at a special facility in Invercargill - hand rearing became necessary when the rimu crop failed to ripen, and females were finding it hard to feed chicks,. The oldest of the 7 chicks still being reared by kakapo mums on Codfish Island is now more than 2 months old. If all of these chicks survive (which is not yet guaranteed) they will bring the kakapo population to 125 birds, up from 91 at the beginning of the breeding season.
Follow the links to hear more stories featuring kakapo:
Science, kakapo and evolutionary theory
Rangi: a kakapo rediscovery and the Frozen Sperm Bank
Kakapo sperm collection and artificial insemination
Rimu fruit and kakapo breeding
Preparing for the 2009 kakapo breeding season
Kakapo on Hauturu-Little Barrier Island 2013
Interview with Alison Ballance on her book 'Kakapo - rescued from the brink of extinction'
