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Saving the Kakapo: the conservation of the world's most peculiar parrot
- Mick N. Clout, Don V. Merton
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- Journal:
- Bird Conservation International / Volume 8 / Issue 3 / September 1998
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 11 May 2010, pp. 281-296
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- Article
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We review the conservation history and describe the current status of the Kakapo Strigops habroptilus, a large New Zealand parrot which has been reduced to only 54 individuals through predation by introduced mammals, and is now threatened with extinction. Unique amongst parrots, Kakapo are both flightless and nocturnal. They have an unusual mating system in which females nest and raise their young unaided by males, after mating at traditional “courts” at which males display visually and vocally. Mating occurs naturally only in seasons of heavy fruiting of podocarp trees. A decline in range and abundance of Kakapo followed the introduction of alien mammals last century, and culminated in their reduction to a single breeding population on Stewart Island. Following a severe episode of predation by feral cats Felis catus, all known birds from this last population were translocated to a series of cat-free offshore islands. Adult survival on these island sanctuaries has been high (c. 98% per annum), but productivity has been low, with only six young (including a single female) raised to independence since 1982. Reasons for this low productivity are the naturally intermittent breeding of Kakapo, the low numbers of nesting females, high rates of egg infertility (~ 40%), and the early death of most nestlings through starvation or suspected predation by Polynesian rats Rattus exulans. These rats are present on both of the island sanctuaries where nesting has occurred. The Kakapo sex ratio is biased in favour of males (34:20) and only 8 of the 19 adult females are known to have laid fertile eggs in the past 10 years. Management of all remaining birds is now highly intensive, involving radio-tagging of all individuals, the provision of supplementary food, attempts to manipulate matings, nest surveillance, and protection against rat predation.
6 - Critically endangered bird populations and their management
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- By Ben D. Bell, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand, Don V. Merton, National Kakapo Team, Biodiversity Recovery Unit, Department of Conservation, PO Box 10 420, Wellington, New Zealand
- Edited by Ken Norris, University of Reading, Deborah J. Pain, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
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- Book:
- Conserving Bird Biodiversity
- Published online:
- 10 December 2009
- Print publication:
- 06 June 2002, pp 105-138
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Summary
INTRODUCTION
Some bird populations have declined in abundance to critically low levels or have become highly localised. For example, during the period 1979–81 the Chatham Island black robin was reduced to only one effective breeding pair, while by the early 1970s the Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus) had declined to four known individuals. Despite such extreme endangerment, both species were saved from the brink of extinction and restored to viability in the wild by conservation management (Jones 1998; Merton 1990). In this chapter, we review the variety and characteristics of critically endangered species, and outline the threats they face and how they are managed. Endangered bird conservation successes and failures are examined, as well as ongoing programmes where the fate of taxa on the brink of extinction remains in balance. To provide reference material for practitioners, lecturers and students, we examine key management techniques before presenting individual case studies covering a diverse range of species and situations. While we focus on birds, the management techniques that we review apply (to a greater or lesser extent) to other taxa.
WHICH ARE THE WORLD'S CRITICALLY ENDANGERED BIRDS?
Within the last 500 years, 128 bird species are known to have become extinct, 103 of these since 1800 (BirdLife International 2000). Currently 1,186 bird species (12% of all birds) are considered threatened with extinction within the next 100 years. Of these, 182 are Critical (15%), 321 Endangered (27%) and 680 Vulnerable (57%); a further three are Extinct in the Wild (BirdLife International 2000).