One of the rarest parrots in the world has started breeding again

A new breeding season has begun in New Zealand for the kakapo, a rare flightless parrot that is on the verge of extinction. This was reported by the Department of Nature Conservation of the country. This is the first breeding of the species in the last four years, reports Phys.org.

According to the department, there are now only 236 kakapo left in the world, which live in three isolated populations on the remote southern islands of New Zealand. Of those, 83 females are in their reproductive years, and experts hope the current season could be the most successful in terms of hatchlings ever recorded.

"The start of the mating season is always exciting, but this year it is particularly welcome - after a hiatus since 2022," said kakapo recovery programme manager Deirdre Vercoe.

She said mating will continue over the next month and ecologists are preparing for potentially the biggest breeding season in the 30 years the programme has been running.

The kakapo recovery programme was launched in 1995 by the Department of Conservation in conjunction with the Ngai-Tahu Māori tribe. At that time there were only 51 parrots left alive and the species was on the brink of extinction.

By 2022, the kakapo population had managed to increase to 252 individuals, but 16 birds have died in the last four years. The current mating season was the 13th in the last 30 years - kakapo only breed every two to four years.

Ecologists stress that the main goal of the programme is not just to increase the number of birds, but to create sustainable and self-sustaining populations that can exist with minimal human intervention.

Ngai-Tahu tribal representative Tane Davies said he hoped that in the future kakapo could once again inhabit much of New Zealand's South Island.

The first chicks are expected to emerge in mid-February.