Kakapo

No I didn’t make it up. The Kakapo is a real thing and it is a member of the parrot family. When New Zealand was formed around 10 million years ago the only creatures to be found were those that had already been found on the islands that now make up New Zealand, such as the Tuatara lizard, or they flew to the island. Parrots were some of the migrants who made it to the island and nowhere else in the world are there parrots like those found in New Zealand.

What is it?! 

            One of these strange creatures is the Kakapo. The Kakapo is thought to be the oldest surviving parrot species and is the heaviest parrot alive today weighing a hefty 6-7 pounds. They are flightless but are very good climbers. They are also the only parrots to be exclusively herbivorous; they eat plant matter and only plant matter. They don’t chow down on insects, eggs or small vertebrates like all other parrots. The Kakapo is also unique among land birds in that it can store energy in its body fat and unlike all other parrots



This is one big bird!

who are largely diurnal (awake during the day or lighter hours) the Kakapo is nocturnal like a cat.

            Currently only about 127 are believed to still be alive (it might sound bad but they numbered only 50 in 1995) and breeding programs are in place to help the Kakapo to recover. Man is to blame for its endangerment but destruction of habitat isn’t what threatens them since they aren’t losing any of their habitat, New Zealand is one of the few countries to not over develop the land for mans purposes. It was predatory animals that man brought with him that got them. Despite what people think cats aren’t the ones to blame, Stoats and other relatives of the weasel family such as ferrets are the ones to blame.  

Life style           

            Kakapos are the only parrots that use the Lek breeding strategy. This strategy is seen in other kinds of birds such as game birds (the group that includes peacocks, pheasants, quail and chickens) but not in Parrots. In the Lek system a male digs a small bowl in the earth where he sits to call out to a female. He then displays from this bowl to females. Kakapos only breed every 3-4 years averaging only one to four eggs which have an incubation period of 30 days. The young are raised solely by the female. The chicks are able to leave the nest after ten weeks but the mother will still care for them for about

Kakapo chicks.

six months. 

             Unlike other birds that live life in the fast lane, Kakapo’s live slowly. They don’t move or act in the hyperactive ways like other birds instead they live more like a mammal. Males start breeding at age four and females at age six. They can live for more than 90 years but so far they have only been recorded living for 15 to 30 years; the recorded animals didn’t die from old age.

            When faced with danger the Kakapo oddly ‘freezes’ trying to blend in with its surroundings. Before man brought other animals to the island the only predators that lived on the island were birds such as the extinct Haast’s Eagle; a giant bird of prey boasting a 3 meter wingspan that once terrorized the native fauna of the island such as the now extinct Moa birds. It is believed that the presence of this bird led to the birds’ odd behaviour response.

Status

             The Kakapo is currently listed as criticaly endangered the New Zealand government has set up a program to try and keep the species alive. Breeding programs have been set up and some of the remaining animals have been placed on offshore predator free islands. So far there strategy has worked to some extent and has kept the species from perishing. 

Visit these websites to learn more on the Kakapo and see what can be done and what is being done to save them:

www.kakaporecovery.org.nz

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo

http://www.kakapo.net/en/  

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=1492 

http://www.kcc.org.nz/kakapo