http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnewsstory.cfm?storyID=939934&thesection=news&thesubsection=general&thesecondsubsection=latest
Fifty-two kakapo eggs ... and numbers still climbing
18.02.2002 2.07 pm
Endangered kakapo on an island off Stewart Island are sitting on 52 eggs and the
numbers are still climbing, the Department of Conservation (DoC) said today.
The egg-laying rush may pull the kakapo back from the edge of extinction.
There are only 62 kakapo left on the planet -- nearly all on Whenua Hou (Codfish
Island) off Stewart Island -- and they are one of the rarest species in the
world.
The kakapo have not bred or produced any eggs or chicks for three years....until
this breeding season.
DOC's kakapo team leader Paul Jansen said he expected about a 60 per cent
hatching rate of the kakapo eggs.
The age of the kakapo population is unknown but one male, Richard Henry, is 45
and one female, Heather, is 24. Many of the other birds may be a lot older.
- NZPA
Bumper crop of eggs lifts hope for kakapo
15.02.2002
By AINSLEY THOMSON
Kakapo - New Zealand's native parrot - have been busy breeding, creating hope
that the endangered species' population will soon get a much-needed boost.
With only 62 kakapo left, the 47 eggs that have been laid on Codfish Island
represent a potentially large increase in population.
Department of Conservation kakapo recovery spokesman Paul Jansen said they hoped
the number of eggs produced on Codfish, which is near Stewart Island, would
boost the population at least 50 per cent.
Seventeen females are nesting on the 47 eggs. Mr Jansen is expecting even more
eggs - possibly 60 or more - as four females have mated but are yet to lay.
"In the past few days the rate of egg laying has been fantastic," he said.
One bird, Bella-Rose, has laid four eggs - the largest known hatch for a
kakapo.
This is particularly impressive since she has not laid an egg since 1981.
Mr Jansen said that in previous years between three and 15 eggs had been laid.
This year's prolific breeding was the combination of 30 years of hard work and
an abundant fruiting of rimu trees, providing plenty of rimu seeds - a kakapo
delicacy.
"If this breeding season continues the way it started, in three to five years we
will be able to reduce the human intervention needed to ensure the survival of
this species.
"This is the ultimate aim of any recovery programme."
The kakapo was thought to be extinct in 1975 - a victim of introduced
predators.
But a population was discovered on Stewart Island in 1976, which created an
opportunity for a breeding programme.
The current Kakapo Recovery Programme, sponsored by Comalco, began in 1990.
One project to boost kakapo numbers is the nest minder programme, which involves
filming every nest to ensure the mother is getting enough food and does not
abandon it.
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