The Kakapo is a large flightless parrot which is native to New Zealand. The species is critically endangered and there are now less than 160 left in the world. Their biggest threats are predators (eg: rats, dogs cats, possums stoats) and poor breeding situations. Fortunately, all Kakapo live on protected predator-free forested islands and they’re all intensely monitored and managed. The forests that they live in are thick with plenty of trees and bushes which means more than enough room for them to create burrows during the night. The Kakapo are also nocturnal, which means they’re able to go and collect their food source during the night. The Kakapo’s diet is completely vegetarian and it consists of leaves, buds, flowers, fern fronds, bark, roots, and many others depending on the season.
They have many features and adaptations which help them flourish in their day to day life. Their feathers are a mossy green colour which helped them (in the past) hide from their predators. The Kakapo’s claws and beak are extremely sharp which helps them climb trees, as they’re flightless. Because they were one of the earliest native animals to New Zealand, they’re very important to New Zealand culture and have even been called a ‘national treasure’. Although, they were used as a food source for the early settling Maoris, which caused the population to plummet, at one point they were thought to be extinct.
Kakapos main threat is predators. When they lived on the mainland the Kakapo were a big food source for dogs, cats, rats, possums and stoats. Now, the whole population live on protected islands meaning that they’re a lot safer from predators. Unfortunately, the Kakapo can still be harmed and killed by rats and stoats as the pests are able to swim far distances to the islands. Although the Kakapo are able to harm the stoats and rats with their strong legs and feet, ultimately the bird ends up being killed. The predators have very sharp teeth which lowers the Kakapo’s chances, and because of their naïve and passive nature, the Kakapo can be easily fooled.
The Kakapo can live for up to 95 years, which means they have a long life span and plenty of time to procreate. Unfortunately there are some downsides to their breeding process. On islands in Southern New Zealand, the Kakapo only breed when the rimu trees fruit, which is every 2-4 years. This makes it hard for the Kakapo’s population to grow because the trees don’t fruit every year, and they only lay 1-4 eggs. The Kakapo have a low genetic diversity due to inbreeding, this can lead to many disadvantages in the breeding process such as poor egg fertility and hatch-ability.
The current solutions in place to help save the Kakapo began in November of 2005 when all known living Kakapo were moved to four different predator free islands. These islands are Whenua Hou/Codfish Island off Stewart Island, Anchor Island in southwest Fiordland and Little Barrier Island/Hauturu-o-Toi island in the Hauraki Gulf. This has helped the species profusely and it has shown great improvements, with only 86 left in 2005, with now a little under 160 living Kakapo in 2017.
Some believe that the Kakapo aren’t worth saving; saying that trying to save them is a waste of time and money. A professor located in Australia thinks that the Kakapo aren’t worth saving, he believes that because they have a low population count, there’s no point in trying to save them. This would mean more time and money can be spent on other species who have a better chance at surviving in the long run.
I myself believe that the actions in place to save the Kakapo are working well and are helping the species repopulate. The Kakapo are an important part to New Zealand’s culture and are well worth saving. The predator free islands are keeping the species safe while also helping them breed and flourish. Unfortunately there are some downsides such as some predators being able to swim to the islands. But to prevent this from happening the islands could start being sprayed with 1080, this would keep the Kakapo well and truly protected.
1080 is a poison which is used to create a toxic bait which can be spread throughout the native bush to kill off stoats and rats. This will be helpful to the Kakapo recovery process as it will eliminate any chance the rats and stoats have to get to the Kakapo. Because 1080 is aimed at killing pests it will not do any harm to the Kakapo or any of the native bush as the plants are able to store the toxin leaving them unharmed.
In conclusion, the Kakapo are an amazing species and they’re an important part of New Zealand’s history, meaning we don’t want to lose them. Currently, there are ideal solutions to keep the Kakapo safe and adding 1080 to the mix will keep them even safer. Threats such as predators will get easier to handle as time goes on and more solutions are created. Breeding issues cannot be helped but the population of Kakapo will grow bigger in the near future which means issues such as poor egg-fertility and hatch-ability won’t be as big of an issue.
Sources:
http://terranature.org/kakapo.htm
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kakapo
https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/link-suggestion/wpcd_2008-09_augmented/wp/k/Kakapo.htm