Kakapo Parrot

[apatrimo94]

Hey, I'm not sure if many of you have heard of them, but there's another parrot native to New Zealand called the Kakapo. The Kakapo is known as the owl parrot since it is nocturnal (awake during the night). It's also the heaviest of all parrots. It's the only parrot that CANNOT fly, and they live up to 60 years. They also have a very intresting way of mating and breeding. These guys are HUGE parrots, check out their size compared to a normal human being:

I bet those would make great birds for really good and experienced owners. However, the sad thing is, they're critically endangered with only about 120 left in the wild, with a few in captivity. Why? Because of us, of course :headwall:. There are recovery and conservation programs to help bring the population back up. These guys have done well! Their poplation has gone up from "extinct in the wild" to 120 since 1990. They are gorgeous parrots.

Hopefully they stay around longer. Here's the official website: http://www.kakaporecovery.org.nz/ I donated $10 to help with their recovery programs. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

 

[boabab95]

HEH, I was just about to post about these guys!
They are BEAUTIFUL! I wish they were common, I'd get a couple! hope the recover to a stable number.

 

[HRH Di]

I saw them on Life or Planet Earth or something like that. They are the coolest birds!...next to Jade and Ruby and Max, of course.

 

[Bobby34231]

Don't know that they would make really good pets but they are fascinating, I remember seeing them on some documentry a number of years ago when their future was a lot more grim, nice to see there is some progress on bringing them back from extinction, another NZ parrot that was pretty interesting was the Kea, very intelligent, very destructive, and the only parrot on earth that lives in an alpine habitat.......thanks for the thread

 

[Ratzy]

Last I heard of the kakapo, there was 90 something left. They'd make awesome pets if it weren't for the low numbers.

 

[Aussie Ben]

Thanks for posting Ap, I have seen these guys in videos before and I am so fascinated. How FREEKING huge are they?! LOL

 

[GreenCheek]

lol, you reminded me of this! I saw this on youtube a few months ago.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY"]YouTube - Shagged by a rare parrot - Last Chance To See - BBC Two[/ame]

But in all seriousness, they really are fascinating parrots! I really hope their populations continue to recover!

 

[apatrimo94]

HEH, I was just about to post about these guys!
They are BEAUTIFUL! I wish they were common, I'd get a couple! hope the recover to a stable number.

Looks like I beat you to it then

I couldn't agree more, they are magnificent. Probably be a lot of $$$ though if they were in good numbers and on the pet market.

 

[apatrimo94]

I saw them on Life or Planet Earth or something like that. They are the coolest birds!...next to Jade and Ruby and Max, of course.

Yeah, they are really cool. There mating and breeding behaviors are really fascinating me. Especially how the male makes sonic booms that are heard miles away.

 

[apatrimo94]

Don't know that they would make really good pets but they are fascinating, I remember seeing them on some documentry a number of years ago when their future was a lot more grim, nice to see there is some progress on bringing them back from extinction, another NZ parrot that was pretty interesting was the Kea, very intelligent, very destructive, and the only parrot on earth that lives in an alpine habitat.......thanks for the thread

I sort of agree with you about having them as pets. It would cost a lot of money and space since these guys don't fly but they need areas to run around in and trees to climb on.

I've never heard of the Kea, I'll check that out.

And, you're welcome

 

[apatrimo94]

Last I heard of the kakapo, there was 90 something left. They'd make awesome pets if it weren't for the low numbers.

Yeah, they would. Have them run all around my yard and climb on my trees. Very noisy birds though.

 

[apatrimo94]

Thanks for posting Ap, I have seen these guys in videos before and I am so fascinated. How FREEKING huge are they?! LOL

You're welcome.

I know right, my jaw just dropped when I saw the size of these things. Turns out, in NZ fossil records, these birds are in 3rd place for being there the longest. They were smaller back then and were able to fly. Guess they got fat over time, LOL.

 

[apatrimo94]

lol, you reminded me of this! I saw this on youtube a few months ago.

YouTube - Shagged by a rare parrot - Last Chance To See - BBC Two

But in all seriousness, they really are fascinating parrots! I really hope their populations continue to recover!

Yeah, me too. The problem is, they breed every four years and the mother lays only 1-2 eggs. So it's going to be hard for their numbers to go up faster.

 

[Jari]

Dear (someone who knows much about kakapos),

Could you please answer these questions. It would really help me.
- What are the exact living conditions of the kakapo?
- In what way is the kakapo protected?
- What does the kakapo drink and eat the most?
- What kind of a tree has to blossom to trigger the kakapo to breed?
- Is the percentage important of trees necessary, in the kakapo’s territory, to trigger the kakapo to breed, or is the quantity of blossom important?
- What exactly and how much should the kakapo eat to become fertile?
- Does the nutrition have influence on the “mum” kakapo to give birth to a boy or a girl?
- Are there no ways to stimulate kakapo’s to breed, like sounds or something else?
- Where does the kakapo make its nest?
- What is your opinion about the kakapo?

Yours sincerely Jari

 

[Devann]

OMG those guys are ENORMOUS!!! Very cool though, I think I'll do some research they sound fascinating!

 

[freelucky14]

Hi Guys -
I have been OBSESSED with this bird for several years. I've written several reports and read tons of the scientific literature on them! These parrots are truly amazing. A few interesting tidbits about them: nocturnal, use a lek mating system, slowest metabolism of any known wild bird, possibly longest lived bird on the planet (upper confidence of 120 years), musty smelling feathers (quite possibly one of my favorite smells in the world!), only breed during high production of podocarp or tussuck grass fruit, well developed sense of smell.... The list really goes on and on - I highly recommend you check them out as they are truly one of the most unique - and enignmatic (according to the Smithsonian) - birds in the world. It is so sad that there are only 125 left in the world! The Kakapo Recovery Program has done an amazing job working to bring this amazing parrot back from the brink - at one point there were only 51 of them left - but there is a lot more work to be done. Sadly, they are losing their main sponsorship with one of New Zealand's major smelters and thus things are looking pretty dire for the program. Conservation is not cheap! Please spread the word - support KRP!
Home of the Kakapo Recovery Programme | Kakapo Recovery Programme
https://www.facebook.com/KakapoRecovery
https://www.facebook.com/siroccokakapo

As for having one as pets - these birds do not do well in confined areas. In the early days, the Department of Conservation tried to keep kakapo in captivity in attempts to stimy any further declines in the already tiny population, however, none of the birds lived beyond 4 years - most died within a year. So, as incredible as this bird may seem, they are not suitable for life as pet. Please don't encourage anyone to seek one out - black market pet traders will go for anything if there is a large enough price tag. These poor birds have suffered enough at the hands of humans.... Let's show them we can do right by them!

 

[freelucky14]

PS - I was lucky enough to get to volunteer with Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust earlier this year while Sirocco was doing his yearly public encounter. Normally he lives on Maud Island but once a year he comes to the main islands to interact with people. As he is imprinted on people, Sirocco does okay with short stints in captivity; however, he is never kept away from his home for more than 6-7 weeks.

Here is a picture of me holding him! I still can't believe I got to meet him - getting behind the glass is strictly controlled and you have to go through a few quarantine procedures before getting to interact with him (thus the silly blue jumpsuit I'm wearing).

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

One thing I just noticed that I never really paid attention to before is how forward facing the Kakapo's eyes really are. I know the say all parrots have forward facing eyes but the Kakapo's are almost full forward facing. That may have much to do with their small remaining numbers. Just thought it was interesting.

 

[freelucky14]

Dear (someone who knows much about kakapos),

Could you please answer these questions. It would really help me.
- What are the exact living conditions of the kakapo?
kakapo were once widespread across both the north and south islands of new zealand. they are quite capable of living in a wide range of terrain - from coastal scrub to sub-alpine grasslands. they seem to prefer beech forests. they are general herbavores, meaning that they can eat a large range of plants. looking at fossilized coprolites (aka, poop), botanists have found that kakapo living on the main islands once consumed upwards of 80 different species. kakapo mostly eat the leaves, stems, and shoots of plants, but also eat berries, flowers, seeds, nuts, nectar, pollen, roots, tubers, etc, depending on availability. kakapo usually eat by grasping the stem of a plant with their large feet and then stripping it of desired tissue. kakapo need quite a large area to roam in order to get enough browsing material. As the leafy portion of plants are fairly low in nutritive value, they need to have access to a lot of high quality plants in order to thrive - several hectares per bird is about average, but this really depends on the social status of the bird and the quality of the habitat. kakapo rely on the masting (large production of fruit) of certain podocarps and tussock grasses in order to breed. masting only occurs once every 4 to 7 years on average, and thus the birds rarely breed more than one year in a row. when they occupy their preferred habitat - beech forests - kakapo are reliant on high levels of structural diversity in order to be able to use their strong climbing ability to move from the forest floor to the canopy. Contrary to popular myth, kakapo do not jump out of large trees - they actually climb down, usually the way they came!

- In what way is the kakapo protected?
the kakapo is a critically endangered parrot, and while this isn't great, it is actually an improvement as the parrot was listed as extinct in the wild as recently as 1996. kakapo are part of iucn's red list. main threats to the birds are invasive mammals that can kill chicks or adults or eat eags, low fertility rate that has been caused by in-breeding depression, disease, dominance fights between males, and low reproductive and recruitment rates. the kakapo is intensively managed by a special group known as the kakapo recovery team, which is part of the larger Department of Conservation. All known birds are banded and radiotagged. Each bird is monitored throughout the year, including being weighed daily by digital scales - in order to get the weights in a non-invasive manner KRT has placed customized food hoppers in their territories that only open for one particular bird. the scales are located below the food hoppers and are triggered when the birds come to feed. the hoppers also allow KRT to incorporate customized feeding routines into the close-order management of the population. Mandatory health check-ups are conducted at least annually. During the breeding season, the KRT goes into overdrive and carefully monitors the breeding status of each of the birds. Any breeding activity is closely followed - and any resulting nests are equipped with infrared cameras and two nest-minders who camp nearby to advert any potential disasters. All known birds have dna profiles that are used to manipulate the rather small gene pool in the best way possible. kakapo are actually the wild bird population in the world to have completed artificial insemination trails successfully!
Today, kakapo are only found on four, remote off-shore islands: Anchor, Little Barrier, Codfish, and Maud. The only way on or off these islands is by plane or helicopter and access is strictly controlled. Landing on one of the islands without proper permits would result in several large fines!

- What does the kakapo drink and eat the most?
Kakapo drinks water the most. Food is a bit of a different story and really depends on the habitat it occupies. Some favorites seem to be: astelia, gahnia, tutu, flax, various sedges, grasses, rushes and ferns, rata, totara, leatherwood, etc.

- What kind of a tree has to blossom to trigger the kakapo to breed?
As far as we know, kakapo can be triggered to breed by rimu, a few podocarp trees, and tussock grasses. It is possible that the birds may have been reliant on other trees at one time, but no other plants have been confirmed at this point.
- Is the percentage important of trees necessary, in the kakapo’s territory, to trigger the kakapo to breed, or is the quantity of blossom important?
it appears that it is the percentage of fruit on the plant that triggers breeding. In order for rimu to trigger breeding, about 10% of the branch tips need to be fruiting. Of course, a kakapo must have access to habitat that includes rimu in order for breeding to triggered. as these plants are a limited resource, not all birds will have access to them (due to the lack of presence in some less dominant birds' homeranges) and thus may not be triggered to breed during a masting year.

- What exactly and how much should the kakapo eat to become fertile?
This is still uncertain. It was once thought that by replicating the fat and amino acid content in the kakapo's diet, breeding could be triggered; however, this turned out to be wrong. in fact, when females were given too much extra food, they became overweight. This in turn cause the appearance of a sex bias towards males; which was far from ideal since there were already more male than female kakapo! Females that became obese don't breed at all.... So, keeping a female kakapo in breeding condition is tricky indeed - her diet has to be just right in order to keep a 50:50 sex ratio. The KRT keeps a close eye on the weights of all breeding feeding females and has customized each birds diet in order to optimize their breeding condition.

- Does the nutrition have influence on the “mum” kakapo to give birth to a boy or a girl?
YES! see above.

- Are there no ways to stimulate kakapo’s to breed, like sounds or something else?
It doesn't appear to be the case. Scientists still are not 100% what exactly triggers breeding since the birds seems to be able to tell when a masting year is coming up - they start fattening up before any noticeable ripening of fruit!

- Where does the kakapo make its nest?
kakapo nest in natural occurring cavities. the most commonly used nesting sites have been known to include standing and fallen tree snags, holes in the ground (i.e., up-ended root clumps), caves, and under dense vegetative cover. many of the nests are often modified by the KRT to improve nesting success[FONT=&quot].

[/FONT]

- What is your opinion about the kakapo?
They are, without a doubt, one of the COOLEST bird on planet!

Also, the plural of kakapo is kakapo.
Yours sincerely Jari

 

[MotherlodeParrot]

Dear (someone who knows much about kakapos),

Could you please answer these questions. It would really help me.
- What are the exact living conditions of the kakapo?
kakapo were once widespread across both the north and south islands of new zealand. they are quite capable of living in a wide range of terrain - from coastal scrub to sub-alpine grasslands. they seem to prefer beech forests. they are general herbavores, meaning that they can eat a large range of plants. looking at fossilized coprolites (aka, poop), botanists have found that kakapo living on the main islands once consumed upwards of 80 different species. kakapo mostly eat the leaves, stems, and shoots of plants, but also eat berries, flowers, seeds, nuts, nectar, pollen, roots, tubers, etc, depending on availability. kakapo usually eat by grasping the stem of a plant with their large feet and then stripping it of desired tissue. kakapo need quite a large area to roam in order to get enough browsing material. As the leafy portion of plants are fairly low in nutritive value, they need to have access to a lot of high quality plants in order to thrive - several hectares per bird is about average, but this really depends on the social status of the bird and the quality of the habitat. kakapo rely on the masting (large production of fruit) of certain podocarps and tussock grasses in order to breed. masting only occurs once every 4 to 7 years on average, and thus the birds rarely breed more than one year in a row. when they occupy their preferred habitat - beech forests - kakapo are reliant on high levels of structural diversity in order to be able to use their strong climbing ability to move from the forest floor to the canopy. Contrary to popular myth, kakapo do not jump out of large trees - they actually climb down, usually the way they came!

- In what way is the kakapo protected?
the kakapo is a critically endangered parrot, and while this isn't great, it is actually an improvement as the parrot was listed as extinct in the wild as recently as 1996. kakapo are part of iucn's red list. main threats to the birds are invasive mammals that can kill chicks or adults or eat eags, low fertility rate that has been caused by in-breeding depression, disease, dominance fights between males, and low reproductive and recruitment rates. the kakapo is intensively managed by a special group known as the kakapo recovery team, which is part of the larger Department of Conservation. All known birds are banded and radiotagged. Each bird is monitored throughout the year, including being weighed daily by digital scales - in order to get the weights in a non-invasive manner KRT has placed customized food hoppers in their territories that only open for one particular bird. the scales are located below the food hoppers and are triggered when the birds come to feed. the hoppers also allow KRT to incorporate customized feeding routines into the close-order management of the population. Mandatory health check-ups are conducted at least annually. During the breeding season, the KRT goes into overdrive and carefully monitors the breeding status of each of the birds. Any breeding activity is closely followed - and any resulting nests are equipped with infrared cameras and two nest-minders who camp nearby to advert any potential disasters. All known birds have dna profiles that are used to manipulate the rather small gene pool in the best way possible. kakapo are actually the wild bird population in the world to have completed artificial insemination trails successfully!
Today, kakapo are only found on four, remote off-shore islands: Anchor, Little Barrier, Codfish, and Maud. The only way on or off these islands is by plane or helicopter and access is strictly controlled. Landing on one of the islands without proper permits would result in several large fines!

- What does the kakapo drink and eat the most?
Kakapo drinks water the most. Food is a bit of a different story and really depends on the habitat it occupies. Some favorites seem to be: astelia, gahnia, tutu, flax, various sedges, grasses, rushes and ferns, rata, totara, leatherwood, etc.

- What kind of a tree has to blossom to trigger the kakapo to breed?
As far as we know, kakapo can be triggered to breed by rimu, a few podocarp trees, and tussock grasses. It is possible that the birds may have been reliant on other trees at one time, but no other plants have been confirmed at this point.
- Is the percentage important of trees necessary, in the kakapo’s territory, to trigger the kakapo to breed, or is the quantity of blossom important?
it appears that it is the percentage of fruit on the plant that triggers breeding. In order for rimu to trigger breeding, about 10% of the branch tips need to be fruiting. Of course, a kakapo must have access to habitat that includes rimu in order for breeding to triggered. as these plants are a limited resource, not all birds will have access to them (due to the lack of presence in some less dominant birds' homeranges) and thus may not be triggered to breed during a masting year.

- What exactly and how much should the kakapo eat to become fertile?
This is still uncertain. It was once thought that by replicating the fat and amino acid content in the kakapo's diet, breeding could be triggered; however, this turned out to be wrong. in fact, when females were given too much extra food, they became overweight. This in turn cause the appearance of a sex bias towards males; which was far from ideal since there were already more male than female kakapo! Females that became obese don't breed at all.... So, keeping a female kakapo in breeding condition is tricky indeed - her diet has to be just right in order to keep a 50:50 sex ratio. The KRT keeps a close eye on the weights of all breeding feeding females and has customized each birds diet in order to optimize their breeding condition.

- Does the nutrition have influence on the “mum” kakapo to give birth to a boy or a girl?
YES! see above.

- Are there no ways to stimulate kakapo’s to breed, like sounds or something else?
It doesn't appear to be the case. Scientists still are not 100% what exactly triggers breeding since the birds seems to be able to tell when a masting year is coming up - they start fattening up before any noticeable ripening of fruit!

- Where does the kakapo make its nest?
kakapo nest in natural occurring cavities. the most commonly used nesting sites have been known to include standing and fallen tree snags, holes in the ground (i.e., up-ended root clumps), caves, and under dense vegetative cover. many of the nests are often modified by the KRT to improve nesting success[FONT=&quot].

[/FONT]

- What is your opinion about the kakapo?
They are, without a doubt, one of the COOLEST bird on planet!

Also, the plural of kakapo is kakapo.
Yours sincerely Jari

Jari

Great information thanks for posting.

Any species not established in captivity already that is critically endangered or endangered in the wild should not even be considered for being kept in captivity unless you are a zoo, society or individual that has got extraordinary resources. At least until they are de-listed off endangered by the IUCN Red List. Any attempts to acquire these species that you are a fan of are going to bring more harm than good for the species especially for wild populations. If you want to work with a species that is exceedingly rare to this extent I would recommend becoming a contributor to breeding programs or conservation groups working with these species.

Ironically if I recall correctly this species before their habitats were modified and ecology changed. Due to their natural habitats changed with invasive species and effects from people were once considered a common bird on both the North and South Island of New Zealand.

Cheers
Jeremy A. Rich