New island home for Kakapo

12-08-2002

Fourteen Kakapo Strigops habroptilus have been successfully transferred to a new island home on Te Kakahu (Chalky) Island in Fiordland, south-west New Zealand, by the Department of Conservation's Kakapo Recovery Team.

The Critically Endangered birds were transported from Whenua Hou (Codfish) Island and Te Hoiere (Maud) Island in July. The DoC says the ultimate goal is to have a self-supporting Kakapo population back on mainland New Zealand, living in a protected mainland 'island' environment with intensive predator controls in place.

The transfer of the Kakapo to Te Kakahu is deemed necessary because of increasingly limited space on Whenua Hou Island after this year's bumper breeding season which saw the world Kakapo population increase from 61 to 86 individual birds.