By Tony Reid
A 10-year-old kakapo with a mild case of what vets call "crusty bum" - yes honestly they do - has joined seven other kakapo on an important breeding mission.
The female was treated for the condition at Auckland zoo, before being declared fit to fly to Little Barrier Island.
Ranger Leigh Joyce says that the Department of Conservation is delighted to welcome her to her new home.
“It's fantastic actually, it's brilliant to have them all out here now,” says Ms Joyce.
Rakiura was two weeks late, after the mild infection on her rear had her laid up at Auckland Zoo.
Zoo vet Richard Jakob-Hoff says it was a privilege to be able to care for her.
“This is such an honour really. There are only 126 of these birds alive, and to be able to be able to be this close with one it's a great pleasure,” says Mr Jakob-Hoff.
Today Rakiura was packed up in her cat box, secured in the back of a car, and driven north to a waiting helicopter, for the spectacular journey to Little Barrier Island.
Rakiura is the last of eight kakapo to arrive on the island. The hope is that these critically endangered birds will mate and then breed, to increase their numbers. Their survival depends on it.
The birds are part of an experiment to see if kakapo can breed on their own, in what is now predator free island.
“The females have what's called a nesting transmitter, that actually puts out a frequency that will let us know she's sitting on a nest and then we can go and monitor that nest,” she says.
However kakapo do not mate very often, so this experiment will take time.
Ranger Joyce says that the hope is that the birds will begin mating in a few years time.
“Hopefully in a few years time we'll have some booming males here and with any luck some nesting females and chicks being raised here on Huturu,” says Joyce.
This means Rakiura must find the rest of her mates, and get cosy.
Cold winter nights may provide a good excuse for that.
3 News
source: newshub archive
