Record season for breeding endangered birds

Twenty-six kakapo chicks are being hand-raised in Invercargill following a bumper breeding season.

The Department of Conservation kakapo recovery team set up 14 years ago has seen the population of the endangered bird rise from from 51 in 1995 to 124 today. The 2008/2009 breeding season produced a record 33 chicks, recovery team leader Deidre Vercoe said.

Twenty-seven female kakapo laid 71 eggs, 50 of which were fertile, but 14 embryos failed and three hatched chicks died.

Ms Vercoe said 26 of the chicks were being hand-raised in Invercargill while seven were being raised by their mothers on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, off Stewart Island.

So many had to be hand-raised because of a lack of ripe rimu fruit trees on the island.

"Some mothers were struggling to keep up with the demands of their hungry offspring, so in order to ensure their survival some of the chicks are being hand-raised."

Young chicks needed to be fed at least 10 times a day, while older ones were on about five feeds a day. "Without hand-rearing, only chicks from the 1981 and 2002 breeding seasons would have survived," she said.

The chicks would be taken to Codfish Island at the end of June and will stay in a pen for six weeks before their release.

- NZPA