Kākāpō Files II

The biggest kākāpō season on record has come to an end, with a bumper number of chicks reaching the milestone of 150 days old. The 90 chicks have boosted the kākāpō population from 235 birds to 325, an increase of more than a third. The 2026 season saw 48 kākāpō mums produce living chicks, fathered by 32 dads. The ‘top dad’ was 10-year Tūterangi, breeding for the first time, who fathered 10 chicks with six females. Ten chicks were fathered with the help of artificial insemination. DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme reports that not all of this year’s chicks will be named, and that they expect the next breeding season to be in two years’ time.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction

01:42 – Deidre Vercoe announces 90 chicks and population of 325 kākāpō

04:45 – Naming kākāpō

06:00 – Daryl Eason on the identity of the dads

10:27 – 10 chicks fathered through artificial insemination

15:59 – Andrew Digby on stepping back from intensive management

18:20 – next breeding season in 2028

24:43 – Deidre Vercoe on predator-free habitats

28:58 - Closing credits…

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

The oldest chick of the 2026 kākāpō breeding season, Tiwhiri-A1 has reached 150 days old and can be officially counted. This milestone increases the kākāpō population by one bird to 236, the first time it has risen in 4 years. The first chicks to reach independence are roosting away from their mums and feeding themselves, and two chicks have dropped their transmitters and are now “off-grid”. With the threat of deadly H5N1 bird flu looming, vet Lydia Uddstrom explains that about a quarter of the most genetically valuable kākāpō will be vaccinated against bird flu, especially on Whenua Hou, which has a large population of seabirds.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
02:30 – Island news with ranger Louise Porter
13:45 – Highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu
17:28 - Vet Lydia Uddstrom on bird flu vaccinations
26:10 - How do kākāpō contract aspergillosis
27:37 - Are any kākāpō on display
28:20 - Frozen sperm
29:17 - How kākāpō use space
37:06 - Are kākāpō cuddly
38:00 - Closing credits…

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

Six months after this record-breaking kākāpō breeding season began, all 91 living chicks have fledged and left the nest. The chicks remain with their kākāpō mums and are still being fed by them, as well as eating a range of plant material, and as cold wet midwinter weather sets in the chicks are learning to find dry roost sites. The Kākāpō Team’s Daryl Eason and Andrew Digby answer listener questions, including why did Kākāpō cam star Rakiura spend so much time in the nest digging, what can you learn from a piece of egg shell, and could old museum specimens be a source of lost kākāpō genes?

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

In this episode:
02:06 – Island news with ranger Daniella Whitaker
06:21 – Update on Kākāpō Cam star Rakiura
11:43 – Sick kākāpō
15:19 - Are kākāpō smart?
18:19 - Previous nest cams
20:05 - Why did Rakiura dig so much in her nest?
24:00 - Do kākāpō compete with other species?
25:30 - Kākāpō on Coal Island and at Sanctuary Mountain Mangatautari
30:57 - Museum specimens and lost genes

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:

• Kākāpō ranger, Daniella Whitaker, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
• Kākāpō technical advisor, Daryl Eason, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
• Kākāpō science advisor, Andrew Digby

References:

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

Half of the chicks from this record-breaking kākāpō breeding season have fledged and left their nests for good, but are still being fed by their mums. The tally of living chicks has dropped to 92 with the death of a chick from Te Kākahu/Chalky Island. Veterinary advisor Lydia Uddstrom reports that a 4-year-old female is being treated for cloacitis, a mysterious infection with no known cause that has infected a number of birds in the past few years. Kākāpō rangers give potted histories and breeding season updates for nine birds that are part of a symbolic adoption programme.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:00 – Vet Lydia Uddstrom with island news
06:24 - Adult female Tōrua treated for cloacitis
11:20 - Adoption birds
13:22 - JEM breeding season update
15:57 - Marama breeding season update
18:14 - Waikawa breeding season update
21:28 - Nora breeding season update
24:24 - Bluster Murphy breeding season update
27:05 - Sinbad breeding season update
29:55 - Kuia breeding season update
32:48 - Rahotu breeding season update
35:05 - Rangi rediscovered
37:50 - 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:

• Kākāpō veterinary advisor, Lydia Uddstrom, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
• Kākāpō ranger, Jess Wagner, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
• Kākāpō ranger, Sarah Little
• Kākāpō ranger, Theo Thompson

References:…

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

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.

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

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

Alison Ballance spends a week on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, one of three kākāpō breeding islands. She follows rangers from DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme as they go about their daily and nightly nest visits to check on the rapidly growing chicks. All but one of the 23 nests on Whenua Hou have just a single chick, as the rimu fruit has failed to ripen and kākāpō mums are relying on supplementary food to raise their chicks. During the week, the chick Queenie-A3 is found dead, and there is news from Pukenui/Anchor Island of another chick dying in a flash flood that swept through the nest.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:12 – Sick chick Pearl-B3
05:32 – Chick check at Suzanne’s nest
09:53 – Young male booming
11:18 – qPCR sex testing
14:11 – Chick check at Tiaka’s nest
17:44 - Dead chick Queenie-A3
20:16 - Nest controller and the ‘train station’
24:18 – Supplementary feeding
27:25 – Chick dies in nest flood
29:05 – Heather’s nest check & closing thoughts
33:42 - Update on Pearl-B3
35:22 - Closing credits…

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

DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme says that the 2026 kākāpō breeding season is officially the biggest on record, and that all chicks have now hatched. At least 256 eggs were laid in 80 nests, of which at least 106 hatched. There are currently 99 chicks alive, three of which are being treated at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital for various health problems. The oldest chick, Tīwhiri-A1-2026, is 46-days old and weighs 1.8 kg, while the youngest chick, Awarua-A3-2026, weighs 26 grams at 2-days old. Operations manager Deidre Vercoe says that preliminary sexing results show that about 40 percent of the chicks are female, and that rangers are starting to give the older chicks a permanent microchip for identification.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction

01:16 – Deidre Vercoe with final nest and egg numbers

05:41 – Final chick hatching numbers

11:09 – Planning ahead

13:45 – Dunedin Wildlife Hospital vet Dr Lisa Argilla

20:32 – Rimu fruiting & its role in breeding

27.30 – Supplementary feeding on Whenua Hou

32:10 - Closing credits

…

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

DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme is thrilled to announce the births of 101 kākāpō chicks, with a few more fertile eggs expected to hatch over the next few days. However, kākāpō conservation is a roller-coaster and seven chicks have died from illness or injury. Auckland Zoo vet Adam Naylor resuscitated one small chick using CPR and timely sutures saved the life of another; both patients recovered well and are back in the nest with their kākāpō mother or foster mother. Scientist Andrew Digby reports that egg fertility was similar on the two main breeding islands, Whenua Hou and Pukenui/Anchor Island, and that artificial insemination has had a significant positive effect, improving the fertility of eggs.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:02 - Death of male Matamua
02:21 – Auckland Zoo vet Adam Naylor on Kākāpō ER
09:03 - Sarah Manktelow with egg and chick updates
13:32 – Chicks in hospital
16:43 – Updates on Alison, Queenie & Cyndy, & Tiwhiri-A1
21:58 - Andrew Digby on egg fertility across islands
26:24 - AI has improved fertility of eggs
29:58 - Closing credits…

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

The number of kākāpō chicks has climbed to 54, with plenty more fertile eggs still to hatch on Whenua Hou and Pukenui/Anchor Island. Remote monitoring technology shows that seven kākāpō mums on Te Kakahu/Chalky Island are likely raising chicks as well. DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme is using a genetic ranking system to prioritise how much management attention each chick receives – Kākāpō Cam star Rakiura, for instance, is foster mum to a silver chick and also a gold chick. The oldest chick, Tiwhiri-A1, is ranked gold and a ground-breaking new portable PCR that allows rapid sex-testing of chicks on the islands has shown that he is a male.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:00 - Maddy Whittaker with egg and chick updates
03:50 – Males are stopping booming
08:00 – Rimu fruit ripening
08:40 – Chick and hatching deaths
09:30 – Updates on Alison, Queenie & Cyndy, & Tiwhiri-A1
14:46 - Andrew Digby on genetic ranking system for chicks
21:20 – Sex-testing chicks using PCR
25:25 – Alyssa Salton with kākāpō egg 101
29:58 - Closing credits…

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

Fourteen kākāpō chicks have hatched in wild nests, where they are being cared for by mums and foster mums. More than a hundred viable fertile eggs have already been laid, with more expected in the next couple of weeks. On Whenua Hou, fertile eggs are cared for in incubators to keep them safe and are returned to nests to hatch. DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme has placed a Smart Egg in the nest of Kākāpō Cam star Rakiura, to alert her to the imminent arrival of a pipping egg whose hatching should delight the many fans watching the live video feed. Pukenui/Anchor Island is home to the most kākāpō chicks so far but kākāpō rangers expect Whenua Hou to catch up soon.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
01:15 – Night-time visit to Rakiura’s nest
07:26 - The egg room
11:43 - Seabird danger to eggs
13:05 - Smart Eggs
14:54 – Nest and egg updates
20:20 - Closing credits…

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