Early bird Pearl has laid the first eggs of the 2026 kākāpō breeding season but Kākāpō Recovery Programme science advisor Andrew Digby tells Alison Ballance that it’s too soon to know if they are fertile. Youngsters Huhū and Hondy are the third pair to mate on Whenua Hou, and Heather and Bluster Murphy are the fourth. Hine Taumai and Henry are the first to mate on Anchor Island. Technical advisor Daryl Eason explains the use of artificial insemination (AI), and we find out why it is a useful genetics tool and what the AI team are up to in the field.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
02:10 – Mating updates
08.48 – Discussion about using artificial insemination (AI)
15:28 – Andrew reports on the first AI efforts for this breeding season.
20:51 – 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

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

It’s nearly the New Year and we’re counting down to the start of a big kākāpō breeding season. Island ranger Maddy Whittaker tells Alison Ballance that Pearl and Boss are the first kākāpō to mate. Deidre Vercoe, operations manager for the Kākāpō Team, explains that kākāpō mums on Whenua Hou will get wrap-round support, while management on Anchor Island and Te Kakahu/Chalky Island will be more hands-off. Scientist Andrew Digby talks about the role of technology in making this possible, and digs into the kākāpō’s boring gut microbiome. Technical advisor Daryl Eason introduces founder female Margaret-Maree, matriarch of a lineage with five living generations.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction

00:53 – Kākāpō ranger Maddy Whittaker with news that Pearl and Boss on Whenua Hou are the first kākāpō to mate.

06:02 – Operations Manager of the Kākāpō Recovery Programme Deidre Vercoe explains that kākāpō mums on Whenua Hou will get wrap-round support, while management on Anchor Island and Te Kakahu / Chalky Island will be more hands-off.

10:08 – Science Advisor Andrew Digby talks about the role of technology and the kākāpō’s dull microbiome.

13:24 – Technical Advisor Daryl Eason introduces Margaret-Maree, matriarch of a dynasty with five living generations.

16:18 – Closing credits…

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

It’s the summer solstice and we are waiting for kākāpō breeding to begin. Alison Ballance chats with island ranger Maddy Whittaker, who reports that on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island all the male kākāpō are in full voice, booming all night to attract the females, who haven’t shown any interest yet. The action hasn’t yet ramped up on Anchor Island. Alison also meets three key people from the Kākāpō Team, and hears about their first-ever kākāpō encounters.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
00:42 – Kākāpō ranger Maddy Whittaker with updates on what the male birds are up to on the islands

05:09 – Technical Officer Daryl Eason talks about his first kākāpō encounter and what makes these birds so unique

09:41 – Operations Manager of the Kākāpō Recovery Programme Deidre Vercoe remembers her first kākāpō meeting

13:44 – Science Advisor Andrew Digby talks about meeting his first kākāpō

16:00 – Daryl Eason predicts when the breeding season might begin…

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

The Kākāpō Files returns for a second season, to follow everyone’s favourite parrot through what is predicted to be the biggest breeding season on record. Host Alison Ballance and Our Changing World’s Claire Concannon chat about what exactly is a kākāpō, discuss the conservation history of this endangered bird through the life story of two kākāpō, and discover just how big this breeding season might be.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – What is a kākāpō and how rare are they?

06:32 – Kākāpō names, from Zephyr to Acheron, and a brief conservation history

14:29 – Rimu masting and the 2026 breeding season

22:25 – Kākāpō trivia

24:12 – Closing credits

Learn more:

• Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to date.
• Want to start the new series prepared with all the backstory? Listen to the Voice of the Kākāpō series for a recap of the 2019 breeding season. Then 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:

• Claire Concannon, Our Changing World

References:

“Kākāpō: Rescued from the Brink of Extinction” by Alison Ballance (published 2018)

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

In 2019 Alison Ballance followed the bumpy, rollercoaster ride that was the kākāpō breeding season. Now she returns, six years on, to do it all over again. We'll meet familiar characters, of both the human and bird kind, as well as new faces. Will the chicks born in 2019 start to breed? How will the team fare with a more hands-off approach? Will the deadly aspergillosis that surfaced in 2019 return? And with the rimu mast predicted to be big, could this be the most successful breeding season yet? First episode drops 16th December. Don't miss it.

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

Claire Concannon and Dr Andrew Digby talk about all things kākāpō: that habitat trial and where the birds are now, the next breeding season, and Andrew’s hopes for the future of this iconic manu.  

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

In July 2023 four male kākāpō were released into the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari – part of a new habitat trial to investigate suitable locations for the growing kākāpō population. But after a further six were introduced, the kākāpō began to wander – beyond the fence. A year on, and several escapes later, what’s been learned? And what’s next for kākāpō in Maungatautari?

There are plenty of night-time wanderers in New Zealand that you might expect to come across driving on back roads – rats, mice, a seemingly endless number of possums.

But it’s not often that you round a corner to come face to face with a kākāpō.

Elwin’s escapade

This was the surprising sight that faced Tyler James Lindsay very early one morning in January 2024.

A Cambridge local, Tyler was driving a milk tanker along Scott Road, northeast of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, when suddenly he saw before him a strange shape.

“Just a big green bird. Just in the middle of the road looking straight at my lights, I think it was rather confused,” he says.

Luckily, Tyler is into native birds, so he was aware that kākāpō had been introduced to the fenced sanctuary six months earlier. He knew exactly what he was looking at.

The next day, Tyler’s report made its way to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari kākāpō ranger Dan Howie, who quickly began the search for the elusive Elwin.

“Such an incredible interaction that he saw this bird out there – in the middle of the road no less – which is absolutely terrifying as kākāpō ranger,” says Dan.

But this was not the first time, nor the last, that Dan would feel that fear.

The habitat trial

Kākāpō numbers are growing. In 1995 there were just 51 kākāpō and the threat of losing them forever was all too real.

A decade ago, around the time that Dr Andrew Digby joined the Kākāpō Recovery team, there were just over 120 kākāpō. Today there are 247.

Intensive management and three quite successful breeding seasons have enabled this doubling of kākāpō numbers in the last 10 years. Initially, the challenge was to save the charismatic, flightless parrots from extinction. Now, the team also has an added challenge: where to put them.

To date, the majority of kākāpō have lived on offshore predator-free islands in the rohe of Ngāi Tahu – Whenua Hou / Codfish Island next to Rakiura / Stewart Island, and Pukenui / Anchor Island in Fiordland. But these islands are getting full…

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

Coming soon to RNZ Podcasts is the new series Voice of Tangaroa, exploring the state of our oceans, and the extraordinary variety of life that calls it home. Released weekly from Thursday 29 February, you can find the episodes in the Voice of Tangaroa or Our Changing World podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

Voice of Tangaroa is a joint production between RNZ's Our Changing World and New Zealand Geographic.

Reporting for this series is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. You can learn more and read the articles for free at www.nzgeo.com/seas

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

Alison Ballance joins the kākāpō recovery team on Pukenui Anchor Island to hear how the 2021/2022 kākāpō breeding season is going.

It's been very quiet on the kākāpō front for the last two years, but this year is another big one for the rare bird.

In 2019, the endangered flightless night parrot had its largest breeding season on record, as recounted in the RNZ podcast series the Kākāpō Files and Voice of the Kākāpō. After a rollercoaster ride of successes and setbacks, 72 chicks fledged, temporarily boosting the kākāpō population to 213 birds.

Since then, there has been a slow attrition due to deaths of both old and young birds, which saw this breeding season kick off with 201 birds.

Most importantly, this number included 57 females of breeding age, which are spread across three southern kākāpō islands: Pukenui-Anchor Island (in Fiordland), Te Kakahu-Chalky Island (also in Fiordland) and Whenua Hou-Codfish Island (near Stewart Island). Forty six of those females have bred this year, laying a grand total of 139 eggs.

By autumn, 57 chicks out of the 60 that hatched were doing well, most of them being raised by their mothers or foster mothers. In previous breeding seasons many chicks have been hand-reared, but Deidre Vercoe, manager of DOC's Kākāpō Recovery Programme, says that this year the team was taking a more hands-off approach. This meant no double clutching, and most eggs were left to hatch in nests rather than in incubators.

There is now a much greater reliance on technology to allow remote monitoring, with every bird wearing a smart radio transmitter that sends information about the wearer to a centralised computer database. Te Kakahu-Chalky island is the most hands-off breeding island, and indications from activity records being sent remotely from the three nesting mothers suggests they are still raising the island's three chicks.

Aspergillosis outbreak

Unfortunately, the onset of autumn marked a bit of a turning point in the breeding season. After a period of hot dry weather in Fiordland, the female Jemma, on Pukenui Island, died from aspergillosis. This fungal disease can be deadly, with nine kākāpō dying from it in the 2019 breeding season, although a number of other kākāpō were successfully treated.

A second Pukenui female, Roha, has since been diagnosed with severe aspergillosis and is fighting for her life at Auckland Zoo. Some chicks are at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital being treated for aspergillosis as well as injuries such as broken legs…

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