Kākāpō

## About

A Kākāpō.

The kākāpō ***(Strigops habroptila)*** (pronounced KAH-KUH-POH) or owl parrot is a parrot species once native to mainland New Zealand. The kākāpō has a rotund/stout body with a large boxy head, with large, dark, forward facing eyes. The beak is quite large and grey in colour, it also exhibits very apparent nares, also coloured grey. They also have large, bluish-grey zygodactyl feet, which are extremely identifiable. The feathers of the kākāpō's body are mostly a light green and are speckled with blacks, browns and yellows however, the feathers around the face are cream or tan in colour and form what is known as a 'facial disc'. When moving, kākāpō hold themselves at a horizontal angle, with their facial feathers almost touching the forest floor. When frightened, surprised or threatened, the kākāpō will stand upright and freeze in place in an attempt to blend in with the forest around them. As a flightless bird and the only flightless parrot, the kākāpō lacks a keel, due to the irrelevance of flight muscles. Despite its inability to fly, the kākāpō does have quite noticeable, albeit small wings however, they are only used for keeping balance in trees. The flightless lifestyle has also softened the kākāpō's feathers through evolution, as they are not required to be stiff for flight, unlike other birds. The name: *'kākāpō'* comes from the Māori; '*kākā*', meaning parrot and '*pō*', meaning night, in reference to the parrot's nocturnal lifestyle. Kākāpō can measure to a length of 58-64cm (23-25in) and can weigh up to 0.94-4kg (2-9lbs), making the kākāpō the world's heaviest parrot species. Male individuals average larger sizes than females, ranging 2-2.06kg (4.4-4.5lbs), whereas females average a weight of 1.28-1.5kg (2.8-3.3lbs).

## Diet

Kākāpō are herbivorous parrots, feeding exclusively on plant matter depending on the season. They consume; various fruit species, seeds, rhizomes, fungi, moss, green shoots, leaf buds, tubers and occasionally even pollen. Uniquely, the kākāpō has evolved a specialised beak that grinds and breaks up food in its mouth rather than its gizzard. Due to this adaptation, the kākāpō's gizzard is disproportionately small comparatively to other bird species. The kākāpō's ability to store fat on its body is also unique among ground-dwelling birds.

## Conservation Status

The kākāpō is an extremely threatened species, currently listed as critically endangered due to a multitude of factors. With European settlement, a variety of invasive species were introduced to the island nation, causing massive detriment to the kākāpō population. Species such as domestic cats ***(Felis catus)***, stoats ***(Mustela erminea)*** and black rats ***(Rattus rattus)***, have caused massive population declines, with the latter two species causing high egg and chick casualties in particular. Cats played a massive role in exterminating the species from Stewart island/Rakiura, a large island off the coast of South Island. Through surveys conducted on the island, it was revealed that over 50% of monitored mature individuals had been killed by cats. An all-time low natural reproductive rate can be blamed on recent abnormally low egg fertility. Kākāpō have been known to be extremely susceptible to a variety of diseases, which have brought major declines to the species' population in the past and present. Since 2002, at least fifteen kākāpō individuals have been infected with cloacitis, a disease which causes inflammation to the bird's lower digestive and reproductive tracts. Cloacitis has started to become an increasing threat to the species through its abundance. have been recorded In 2004, three juveniles kākāpō would die after succumbing to septicaemia. Also known as blood poisoning, septicaemia is caused by a bacteria known as ***(Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae)***. Septicaemia had not yet been recorded to infect the species before this point. Most recently, in 2019, an outbreak of aspergillosis infected twenty one individuals, leading to nine casualties among the species and lowering the population to 211 individuals at the time of the outbreak. Aspergillosis is a fungal disease that infects the bird's airways and respiratory tract and is caused through the inhalation of fungal spores. It is also known to effect humans, though not to an extreme degree. Through genomic sequencing, it was found that the outbreak was caused by a single strand of aspergillosis, which is typically unheard of. It was also found that though the strand infected two separate islands, though it only caused an outbreak on one, demonstrating the strand was effective yet not entirely sufficient in disease creation. It is likely that this outbreak was enhanced by the prior successful breeding season, which led to a small growth in the population. Conservation efforts have greatly aided the kākāpō in bouncing back from near extinction. Efforts made to erase local predators from specific islands in particular have allowed for kākāpō sanctuaries to be created, greatly benefitting the species. Monitoring the population through methods of radio tagging, hand-rearing, genomic sequencing and infra-red nest monitoring during breeding seasons have also proven successful. Human breeding-aid through supplementary feeding has also increased the level of female chick births, working to restore the gender-ratio and allowing for more fruitful breeding seasons. Vitamin D deficiency is common among captive kākāpō and research is being conducted to discover whether this deficiency is natural or a biproduct of management. As part of this research, individuals on Whenua Hou/Codfish island were analysed, resulting in the discovery that kākāpō individuals which had received supplements demonstrated higher vitamin D levels comparatively to other individuals. Similar research was also being conducted to see whether high fertility levels can be linked to mast-fruiting (discussed further in Behaviour). If conservation persists, the kākāpō population may thrive in the future.

## Range and Population

Kākāpō are endemic to New Zealand, where they once inhabited the North and South Islands however, they became regionally extinct once invasive predators and disease were introduced to the country through European settlement. Today, they can only be found on select islands such as Stewart island/Rakiura, Whenua Hou/Codfish island, Resolution island and many more, where they enjoy predator-free environments and constant monitoring. The species was originally moved to these islands in an effort to preserve their shrinking population between 1987 and 1992. Kākāpō first became extinct on North Island by 1920 however, small refuges existed in the more treacherous areas of Fiordland, South Island. On the sanctuary islands, kākāpō inhabit primarily mountainous rainforests. The species adopted this trait after European settlement, when they were forced into the higher reaches of isolated mountain ranges in an effort to escape from humans and other predatory animals. Since being moved to the sanctuary islands, the kākāpō population has increased from a population of 51 individuals in 1995 to a much larger 248 as of 2023, according to the New Zealand Department of Conservation. The efforts made to conserve the kākāpō have overall proven to be incredibly successful as the population continues to increase.

## Behaviour

Kākāpō are an extremely unique species with many characteristic behavioural traits not seen often in other birds. As stated prior, kākāpō are the only flightless parrots, meaning their wings are not used for flight, rather they are used as a form of balance while running and walking. As a prolific climber, the kākāpō is able to climb 20m (66ft) trees, using its wings as balance whilst in the canopies. While descending from trees, the kākāpō may also use its wings as a makeshift parachute, ensuring a controlled fall. Kākāpō even manage short 3-4m (10-13ft) glides in-between trees and other gaps.As a nocturnal species, the kākāpō spends the day resting under rocky outcroppings, in burrows amid trees or in or around other organic structures. Once nightfall arrives, the kākāpō begins to forage. It is during this time when they are most active. The kākāpō is only one of two nocturnal parrot species, with the other being the enigmatic night parrot ***(Pezoporus occidentalis)*** of Australia. Unusually for a parrot, the kākāpō is a solitary species and males in particular are rather territorial around other males. Kākāpō establish very large territories, warding off competing males by producing a loud squawk akin to other parrot species, that has been described as sounding like a 'kraak'. Due to the immense sizes of a single male's territory, the male will attract the female, rather than traversing his territory in search of her. During the breeding season (December-February/March, every 2-4 years) it has been found through research on Whenua Hou, that if up to 8% of rimu tips bared fruit during the breeding season, then kākāpō would breed. The higher the percentage, the higher likelihood that female kākāpō would be inclined to breed. Due to this discovery, it is likely confirmed that kākāpō breeding is majorly linked to mast-fruiting events in the wild. Rimu trees themselves only fruit every 2-4 years, further complicating kākāpō breeding. If correct breeding conditions are met, male individuals will meet at a location known as a 'lek system'. The lek system is comprised of divots made in the forest floor known as 'bowls'. The bowls are further linked by worn paths that can reach 50m (164ft) in length. Males will maintain leks by pruning vegetation around bowls and paths. The reasoning for maintenance is so that a male has a better chance of being selected by a female for his tidiness. Once the bowls are in prime condition and ownership of each one has been decided, the males will begin creating deep, loud booming calls that echo through the lek system and forest, being able to be heard clearly from 1-5km (0.6-3.1mi) away. The males may produce this call for up to 3-4 months, repeating it for 7 hours nightly, before attracting a female. They produce this odd call through the use of their thoracic air sac, an anatomical feature unique to the kākāpō among parrots. After this entire process, a lucky male kākāpō will be able to perform a courtship dance and mate with the female if her needs are met. Following the mating, the male plays no role in parenting. As long-lived birds, sometimes reaching up to 80-90 years of age (with some accounts estimating up to 120 years), kākāpō sexually mature at older ages comparatively to many other bird species. Females have been known to begin breeding at 9-11 years of age, whilst males are suspected to breed even later. After breeding occurs, the female will lay 1-4 eggs in a deep, sheltered burrow or other organic structure, typically in soil or rotted wood/detritus. Eggs may be laid up to one month apart from one another. After a 30 day incubation, the chicks are dependent on their mother, being altricial and do not leave the nest until 3.5 months of age. Throughout this entire time, the female provides for her young independently, as the male is absent.

### Relationship with Humans

The Māori people of New Zealand commonly hunted kākāpō in the past, using heir feathers to construct cloaks/capes and other decorative accessories as well as eating their meat. The cloaks and capes may have taken up to 11,000 feathers to construct each and were often described as being incredibly warm. Hunting methods involved hunting parties venturing into forested areas at night and searching for birds with the aid of Polynesian dogs (a term used to describe various extinct dog breeds from the region). Traps such as snares and pits were used commonly and the use of fire to stun a kākāpō was also common practice. Egg poaching was also popular. After European arrival, kākāpō hunting accelerated hugely, causing a mass decline in the species numbers. The Europeans also mainly hunted the kākāpō for food. The kākāpō would soon become well acquainted by European scientists, who quickly scrambled to kill the birds for museums and private collections and capture them for zoos in the late 1800s. When first described, the kākāpō's description was not based from a live individual, but rather the cloak pictured. The specimen was identified by George Gray (1812-1898) of the British Museum in 1845. Gray would even eventually own a pet kākāpō, of which he described as acting "more like that of a dog than a bird." Today, the kākāpō is not hunted by humans and is well respected by the New Zealand population, even being voted '"New Zealand Bird of the Year" in 2020 and 2021 however, it was disqualified from running in 2022, as it was feared that the species would bring attention away from less charismatic birds.

## In Captivity

Today kākāpō are seldom-found in zoos however, Auckland zoo has regularly cared for the species in its veterinary offices. One particularly popular kākāpō would be Sirocco, a male that lives on Whenua Hou. Sirocco would gain infamy for his appearance in the show *Last Chance to See*, a BBC television program that centrered around finding and filming endangered species. In the episode simply titled; *"Kakapo"*, stars Stephen Fry and Mark Cawardine visit Sirocco on Whenua Hou, where Sirocco then mounts Cawardine's head whilst he attempts to photograph him. This eventuated in Sirocco attempting to mate with top of the naturalist's head. Sirocco would gain international recognition globally after this event, becoming a celebrity and symbol for kākāpō conservation. Sirocco's fame would lead to him being transported to Auckland Zoo in 2009, where thousands of his fans got to meet him. He was later also brought to Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary and Maungatautari Ecological island in 2011 and 2012 respectively. In 2010 Sirocco would also be appointed spokes-bird for conservation by the Prime Minister at the time, John key. As of 2023 Sirocco has reached 26 years of age and remains a cultural and international icon.

## Sources

* Kakapo IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685245/129751169
* Kākāpō | Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%81k%C4%81p%C5%8D
* Sirocco (Parrot) | Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirocco\_(parrot)
* Kakapo | Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology - https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Strigops\_habroptila/
* Kākāpō | New Zealand Department of Conservation - https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kakapo/
* Kākāpō Behaviour | New Zealand Department of Conservation - https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kakapo/behaviour/
* Breeding Season Predicted for Kākāpō | New Zealand Department of Conservation - https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2021-media-releases/breeding-season-predicted-for-kakapo/
* A single fungal strain was the unexpected cause of a mass aspergillosis outbreak in the world’s largest and only flightless parrot | Science Direct - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004222017424#:~:text=The%202019%20outbreak%20of%20aspergillosis,115%20adults%20at%20the%20time.
* Kākāpō | New Zealand Birds Online - https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kakapo
* Kākāpō Recovery | Auckland Zoo - https://www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/kakapo-recovery
* New Zealand Bird of the Year Contest Bars World's Fattest Bird from Running | The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/12/new-zealand-bird-of-the-year-contest-favourite-kakapo-blocked