New Zealand’s chubby parrots are back on the mainland

Kakapos are full and can’t fly. In their native New Zealand, flower-scented macaws are critically endangered. Her return to the mainland is a significant milestone.

One of New Zealand’s most unusual birds has returned to the mainland for the first time in 40 years: four male kakapos from Codfish Island off the South Island were brought to Waikato District on the North Island on Wednesday, the Department of Conservation (DOC) said.

The kakapo is one of the most popular species in the country.Photo: Flickr/The Conversation section

The world’s only chubby, flightless and nocturnal macaws, the conservation authority wrote, are “one of the country’s most well-known and rare species”. The rats, chickens, cats and other animals brought by the settlers had pushed them to the brink of extinction.

In 1995, only 51 kakapos (scientifically: Strigops habroptila) were counted, said DOC expert Deidre Vercoe. But the authority’s decades of efforts in collaboration with Māori have borne fruit: the population has doubled since 2016, and by 2022 the number of specimens has grown to 252. “So far, kakapos have only been able to survive on a few offshore islands devoid of predators, so it’s quite an achievement for everyone involved that they are now returning to the mainland,” Vercoe said.

British zoologist Mark Carwardine once wrote that the kakapo is “the world’s largest, fattest and flightless parrot”, adding: “It is as affectionate as a dog and as playful as a cat, and can blow air to … take on the size and shape of a football.”

Since there are no mammals in New Zealand, birds haven’t had to adapt to these enemies either: They live on the forest floor, lay their eggs there, can’t fly—and haven’t evolved any defense strategies. The name is composed of the Māori words “kaka” (parrot) and “bo” (night).

Now animal rights activists have to find out if parrots can also thrive well in a fenced reserve after being relocated. (saw/sada/daba)

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