tagged w/ Parrot
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It is flightless, helpless and looks like a giant budgie, but New Zealand's rare kakapo ground parrot is clawing its way back from the brink of extinction.
A decade ago the species was down to just 51 birds, but the hatching of five new chicks in recent weeks has boosted the population to 91. Another two eggs are about to hatch, conservationists have said.
Even a modest increase in numbers was "awesome, especially considering these birds only breed every few years," said Emma Neill, a senior official from New Zealand's Department of Conservation.
The kakapo is the world's heaviest species of parrot and is found only in New Zealand. It is also nocturnal.
Once common, with no natural predators, it has been devastated by introduced pests such as the Polynesian rat, brought by Maori, and cats, dogs, stoats and weasels brought by European settlers in the 19th century.
The last time kakapo bred successfully was in 2005, when four chicks were produced - an overall fertility rate of just 58 per cent. The record year was 2002, when 24 chicks emerged.
This year all the eggs laid by the parrots turned out to be fertile. "Because not every egg results in a hatching and not every hatching results in a healthy chick, we are doing all we can to improve survival rates," Ms Neill said.
Surviving kakapo are now kept on two small, predator-free offshore islands and the latest hatchlings are all from Whenua Hou, or Codfish Island, two miles off Stewart Island in the far south of New Zealand.
The only other island the birds are found on is Anchor Island in Fiordland.
Volunteers camp by the kakapos' nests to give the eggs the best chance of hatching, occasionally covering the eggs with a heat-pad if the mothers leave on foraging expeditions.
During the breeding season, male kakapo swell up like a balloon and emit a low booming sound that can travel up to three miles. The birds cannot fly but are adept at climbing trees.
The parrots have yellow-green plumage, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and relatively short wings and tail.
Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick said the latest hatchings were testament to New Zealand's international reputation in species recovery.
"We should take pride in the fact that our efforts with kakapo are recognised worldwide," he said.
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If we continue to strive to protect endangered species, slowly but surely they'll come back around and maybe this time, we can learn to coexist happily.It is flightless, helpless and looks like a giant budgie, but New Zealand's rare... more
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The newest parrot star is Ten, a female blue-and-gold macaw, in Toyko, Japan. She can solve a chain puzzle in 30 seconds when it takes humans over an hour. Daichi Yamanaka, a parrot keeper at a botanical garden where Ten lives, hosts a show where the audience has the chance to try to best the parrot star at the game. But so far, none have been able to.
Part of the reason no one can beat her is because Ten already knows how to solve the puzzle. According to Yamanaka, Ten was determined to figure it out when she first received the toy and solved it soon after. Against the parrot star, excited challengers are defeated each and every time.
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Parrots Rule!The newest parrot star is Ten, a female blue-and-gold macaw, in Toyko, Japan. She can... more
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A parrot species found deep in the Andes mountain range of Columbia has newfound hope.
Fundación ProAves, a partner group of the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), opened up a conservation area in February 2008 for the Fuertes’s parrot (Hapalopsittaca Fuertes), which was once thought to be extinct. Employees at the 1,500-acre reserve located in the Central Andes in Columbia set up a plan to study and monitor the parrots.
It is estimated that only 160 Fuertes’s parrots remain in existence. The bird species had not been seen since 1911 until Alonso Quevedo, president of Fundación ProAves, found a flock of 14 birds in 2002.
“He played a central role protecting and studying the bird with Fundación Loro Parque support, and he negotiated and acquired the land on behalf of Fundación Proaves,” said Paul Salaman, ABC spokesperson.
A parrot species found deep in the Andes mountain range of Columbia has newfound hope.... more
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Awesome!
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CBoldt
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added this
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4 years ago
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