The tally of confirmed living kākāpō chicks goes down with two further deaths, but gets a welcome boost with the confirmation of a living chick in a previously inaccessible nest. This brings the number of living chicks to 93, ranging in weight from 770 grams to nearly 2.5 kilograms. On all three kākāpō breeding islands, the oldest kākāpō chicks are fledging and leaving their nests. They are still accompanied and fed by their mothers, but find their own shelter. Before chicks leave the nest for good, kākāpō rangers visit to insert microchips as a permanent identification, and to attach transmitters that enable the Kākāpō Team to locate the chicks and monitor their activity levels remotely.

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In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
02:34 – Big chick Huhū-A1 using a special ramp to leave the nest
05:23 – Ranger Petrus with the latest island news
06:44 - A chick is finally confirmed in Rimu’s cliff-top nest
10:09 - Two more of Waa’s chicks die so latest living chick tally is 93
11:46 - Update on Pearl-B3 and sick chicks
13:17 - Chick transmitters
19:55 - Tanē Davis on Ngāi Tahu’s relationship with kākāpō
27:35 - Vet Lydia Uddstrom and Vori’s story
32:34 - Closing credits…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details