It’s the New Year and we’re in the early days of a big kākāpō breeding season. Daryl Eason from the Kākāpō Team tells Alison Ballance that Esperance and Ian are the second kākāpō to mate, and he expects that any minute now there will be plenty more birds mating. The kākāpō population drops to 236 birds. Science advisor Andrew Digby explains why every living kākāpō has had its genome sequenced, and what genes can reveal – including why some kākāpō have olive feathers and others are bright green. And we meet over-achievers Flossie and Blades.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected]

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
00:38 – Daryl Eason with news of the second mating of the season, what Pearl is up to and a death
05:10 – Andrew Digby talks genomes and feather colour
12:10 – Super breeders Flossie and Blades
14:08 – Closing credits

Learn more:

• Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to date.
• Listen to the Voice of the Kākāpō series for a recap of the 2019 breeding season. Also listen to the episodes covering the interim 2022 breeding season, and about how a few male kākāpō have fared in the North Island, in the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari.
• For more New Zealand science and nature find and follow the Our Changing World podcast, and subscribe to the show’s monthly newsletter.

Guests:

• Andrew Digby, Science Advisor, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
• Daryl Eason, Technical Advisor, Kākāpō Recovery Programme

Kākāpō Files is made in collaboration with the Department of Conservation’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme.

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