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] this episode:00:00 – Introduction01:42 – Deidre Vercoe announces 90 chicks and population of 325 kākāpō04:45 – Naming kākāpō06:00 – Daryl Eason on the identity of the dads10:27 – 10 chicks fathered through artificial insemination15:59 – Andrew Digby on stepping back from intensive management18:20 – next breeding season in 202824:43 – Deidre Vercoe on predator-free habitats28:58 - 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] this episode:00:00 – Introduction02:30 – Island news with ranger Louise Porter13:45 – Highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu17:28 - Vet Lydia Uddstrom on bird flu vaccinations26:10 - How do kākāpō contract aspergillosis27:37 - Are any kākāpō on display28:20 - Frozen sperm29:17 - How kākāpō use space37:06 - Are kākāpō cuddly38:00 - 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] this episode:02:06 – Island news with ranger Daniella Whitaker06:21 – Update on Kākāpō Cam star Rakiura11:43 – Sick kākāpō15:19 - Are kākāpō smart?18:19 - Previous nest cams20:05 - 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 Mangatautari30:57 - Museum specimens and lost genesLearn more:Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to dateListen 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 MaungatautariFor more New Zealand science and nature find and follow the Our Changing World podcast, and subscribe to the show’s monthly newsletterGuests:Kākāpō ranger, Daniella Whitaker, Kākāpō Recovery ProgrammeKākāpō technical advisor, Daryl Eason, Kākāpō Recovery ProgrammeKākāpō science advisor, Andrew DigbyReferences: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] this episode:00:00 – Introduction01:00 – Vet Lydia Uddstrom with island news06:24 - Adult female Tōrua treated for cloacitis11:20 - Adoption birds13:22 - JEM breeding season update15:57 - Marama breeding season update18:14 - Waikawa breeding season update21:28 - Nora breeding season update24:24 - Bluster Murphy breeding season update27:05 - Sinbad breeding season update29:55 - Kuia breeding season update32:48 - Rahotu breeding season update35:05 - Rangi rediscovered37:50 - Closing creditsLearn more:Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to dateListen to the Voice of the Kākāpō series for a recap of the 2019 breeding seasonAlso 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 MaungatautariFor more New Zealand science and nature find and follow the Our Changing World podcast, and subscribe to the show’s monthly newsletterGuests:Kākāpō veterinary advisor, Lydia Uddstrom, Kākāpō Recovery ProgrammeKākāpō ranger, Jess Wagner, Kākāpō Recovery ProgrammeKākāpō ranger, Sarah LittleKākāpō ranger, Theo ThompsonReferences:…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] this episode:00:00 – Introduction02:34 – Big chick Huhū-A1 using a special ramp to leave the nest05:23 – Ranger Petrus with the latest island news06:44 - A chick is finally confirmed in Rimu’s cliff-top nest10:09 - Two more of Waa’s chicks die so latest living chick tally is 9311:46 - Update on Pearl-B3 and sick chicks13:17 - Chick transmitters19:55 - Tanē Davis on Ngāi Tahu’s relationship with kākāpō27:35 - Vet Lydia Uddstrom and Vori’s story32:34 - 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] this episode:00:00 – Introduction01:12 – Sick chick Pearl-B305:32 – Chick check at Suzanne’s nest09:53 – Young male booming11:18 – qPCR sex testing14:11 – Chick check at Tiaka’s nest17:44 - Dead chick Queenie-A320:16 - Nest controller and the ‘train station’24:18 – Supplementary feeding27:25 – Chick dies in nest flood29:05 – Heather’s nest check & closing thoughts33:42 - Update on Pearl-B335:22 - 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] this episode:00:00 – Introduction01:16 – Deidre Vercoe with final nest and egg numbers05:41 – Final chick hatching numbers11:09 – Planning ahead13:45 – Dunedin Wildlife Hospital vet Dr Lisa Argilla20:32 – Rimu fruiting & its role in breeding27.30 – Supplementary feeding on Whenua Hou32:10 - 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] this episode:00:00 – Introduction01:02 - Death of male Matamua02:21 – Auckland Zoo vet Adam Naylor on Kākāpō ER09:03 - Sarah Manktelow with egg and chick updates13:32 – Chicks in hospital16:43 – Updates on Alison, Queenie & Cyndy, & Tiwhiri-A121:58 - Andrew Digby on egg fertility across islands26:24 - AI has improved fertility of eggs29:58 - 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] this episode:00:00 – Introduction01:00 - Maddy Whittaker with egg and chick updates03:50 – Males are stopping booming08:00 – Rimu fruit ripening08:40 – Chick and hatching deaths09:30 – Updates on Alison, Queenie & Cyndy, & Tiwhiri-A114:46 - Andrew Digby on genetic ranking system for chicks21:20 – Sex-testing chicks using PCR25:25 – Alyssa Salton with kākāpō egg 10129:58 - 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] this episode:00:00 – Introduction01:15 – Night-time visit to Rakiura’s nest07:26 - The egg room11:43 - Seabird danger to eggs13:05 - Smart Eggs14:54 – Nest and egg updates20:20 - Closing credits…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details