Kakapos roost in trees or on the ground during the day and only become active at night. They smell nice. The kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, useful in its nocturnal lifestyle. It also has what's described as a musty-sweet odor.
This likely helps kakapos find each other in the forest; unfortunately, it helps introduced mammalian predators find them, too. They're friendly. Even wild kakapos are known to approach, climb on, and preen people. George Edward Grey, the English ornithologist who first described the kakapo in , once wrote that his pet kakapo's behavior towards him and his friends was "more like that of a dog than a bird.
They're critically endangered. Both groups cleared large areas of the kakapo's habitat and brought with them predators like cats, rats, and stoats that the kakapo had no defenses against.
The Plan involved the rounding up and relocation of kakapos to predator-free islands, setting up supplementary feeding stations for the birds, and sometimes artificial incubation of eggs and hand-raising of chicks. The effort has averted the kakapo's extinction, but they are still critically endangered. As of early , there were kakapos in the wild.
They're possibly one of the longest-lived birds. Kakapos live life at a slow pace. During breeding times, researchers provide food for the birds to help their nesting efforts succeed. No, the Kakapo does not make a good pet. Every single bird is important for the survival of the species. This is why it is highly illegal to own one as a pet. Though no zoos house these birds, the Kakapo Recovery Program does hand rear chicks and incubates eggs to increase their survival rate.
The researchers carefully managed the temperatures during incubation and the rearing of the chicks. When they release the chicks back onto the islands, they equip them with GPS monitors, like all other members of the population. Unlike most parrots , Kakapos are nocturnal. This means they are most active at night, and rest during the day. Researchers believe that they developed this behavior to avoid eagles and falcons during the daytime.
During the day they sleep in small burrows or caves. As night falls, these solitary birds move off to search for food. They forage both on the ground and up in trees.
The only time they interact with other Kakapos is during the breeding season. As the breeding season approaches male Kakapos congregate in an area, known as a lek, to display for females. Nutrient composition of the diet of parent-raised kakapo nestlings. Eason, D.
Hand-rearing kakapo Strigops habroptilus , Breeding biology of kakapo Strigops habroptilus on offshore island sanctuaries, Elliott, G. A simulation of the future of kakapo. Productivity of kakapo Strigops habroptilus on offshore island refuges. Intensive management of a critically endangered species: the kakapo. Biological Conservation 99 : Farrimond, M.
Home range size of kakapo Strigops habroptilus on Codfish Island. Growth and fledging of kakapo. Harper, G. What triggers nesting of kakapo Strigops habroptilus? Agonistic display and social interaction between female kakapo Strigops habroptilus. Higgins, P. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds.
Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Jansen, P. Kakapo recovery: the basis of decision-making. Powlesland, R. A parrot apart: the natural history of the kakapo Strigops habroptilus and the context of its conservation management. Raubenheimer, D. The challenge of supplementary feeding: can geometric analysis help save the kakapo. Robertson, B. The role of genetics in kakapo recovery. Walsh, J. Seasonal changes in home range and habitat selection by kakapo Strigops habroptilus on Maud Island. Wilson, D.
Wood, J. They typically only breed in New Zealand rimu trees are fruitful, which is about every two to four years. Or at least it's loud. During breeding season, males go up to prominent rocks or hilltops, inflate like a balloon and emit a sonic boom-like noise. This "boom" announces to all interested females that the males are ready to mate.
After 20 to 30 booms, they make a "ching" — a high-pitched metallic call. This pinpoints a male's position so a female can find him. This boom-ching pattern can go on continuously for up to eight hours every night for two to three months. This is called lek breeding: when males gather to show off and compete for a mate. Though he didn't get much credit at the time, one man made saving this interesting bird his mission.
In , Richard Henry noticed that populations of the bird were plummeting, and though he had no format scientific training, he correctly connected their demise to the influx of ferrets and stoats to New Zealand. He became the caretaker of Resolution Island and over the years, he rowed hundreds of the birds from the mainland to the island to get them out of harm's way.
In fact, one of the most important kakapos was named after him, as you'll learn in the video above. Boom-chings aside, the kakapo squawks like a typical parrot, but it has a more varied vocabulary. Some of its other noises sound like a donkey's bray or a pig's squeal. Male kakapos have a large thoracic air sac which they are able to inflate to make their loud booming noises. They're the only parrots with these sacs and these capabilities.
If the air is still enough, the sound can be heard from as far as 3 miles 5 kilometers away. Listen to many of the kakapo's noises courtesy of the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Though they are making a significant comeback, the birds also seem to face new threats at every turn. The newest is a respiratory infection called aspergillosis, which is caused by an airborne fungus.
It's the same fungus that infects humans. Nine of the birds were lost to the disease in , but researchers think it was caused by significant spore loading in nests on Whenua Hou, the island where all of the aspergillosis cases started. Increased "nest stress" leads to decreased immunity, a problem the researchers are tackling to reduce the number of future cases. It may not the most successful mode of defense, but when a kakapo is disturbed or frightened, it keeps absolutely still and hopes it won't get noticed.
The kakapo likely developed this behavior when most of New Zealand's predators were birds and hunted by sight, so freezing might have worked. It's not so handy for predators who hunt using their sense of smell. And, as you'll learn, the kakapo has a rather strong, distinctive smell, so it's easy for predators to find — whether it is frozen in place or not.
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