On an island in the remote southern fjords of New Zealand, one of the world’s strangest and rarest parrots, the kākāpō, cares for its tiny chick while fans from around the world look on.
Through the black-and-white lens of a hidden camera, a fluffy orb with a kazoo-like squeak searches for food from its mother’s beak. The mother, Rakiura, is attentive: she gathers her chick under her large green wings, chases away an intruding bird, and periodically tidies up her nest.
Since the New Zealand Department of Conservation launched its livestream in mid-January, more than 100,000 people have tuned in to watch Rakiura during the breeding season.
In a chat forum attached to the live broadcast, fans monitor the progress and comment on every moment with joy. Some congratulate the mother on her chicks, while others offer name suggestions. Conservationists are hopeful that this will be a record breeding year for the threatened bird: Rakiura has already given birth to three chicks.
At any given time there are over 100 people watching her, even when she sleeps for hours on end. On the forum, many discuss why this rare glimpse into the elusive lives of the kākāpō resonates.
“This site is my lovely distraction from all the terrible things happening in the world around us,” writes one viewer.
“I follow the story of this nest with curiosity and wonder,” writes another. “Thank you (Department of Conservation) for your commitment and passion for this extraordinary bird: fighting for the beautiful and wonderful things on this planet is never useless or a waste of time.”
“Oh my gosh. I just cried a little knowing how fragile this species is,” one fan writes upon hearing that two of Rakiura’s eggs are fertile. “It’s really so amazing and so exciting.”
People from countries like the UK, Finland and Germany, and all over New Zealand, have tuned in.
Their popularity isn’t entirely surprising: kākāpō are famous for being entertaining and strange. They are the fattest parrot in the world and the only nocturnal and flightless parrot. They have a gentlemanly face, unusual mating rituals, and are extremely rare.
Kākāpō were once abundant in New Zealand. But their population plummeted after the introduction of predators such as cats and stoats, and by the 20th century they were almost extinct.
A recovery program established in 1995 rebuilt the population from 51 to 236 birds, including 83 breeding-age females.
Now, for the first time in four years, they are breeding, sparked by the massive fruiting of berries from the native rimu tree on which the kākāpō feed. Conservationists hope the bountiful harvest could prompt the birds to produce more eggs and spawn a record number of chicks.
With 78 nests, 247 eggs laid and 57 chicks hatched so far, the birds are on track to reach the milestone, says Dr Andrew Digby, scientific adviser to the kākāpō department, speaking from Pukenui/Anchor Island, where he is monitoring the nests.
“It will be the largest kākāpō breeding season we have ever had on record.”
There are three breeding populations of kākāpō, all based on predator-free islands near the bottom of the South Island: one near Rakiura/Stewart Island and two near Fiordland National Park.
This season, the kākāpō team has begun to move away from the more intensive methods they had used in previous years, including not feeding the adult birds.
“We’re moving from individual recovery to population recovery, and that’s what this breeding season means: a turning point.”
The nests are still monitored and staff often move the eggs and chicks, which weigh approximately 30 grams at hatch, between mothers to ensure they have the best chance of survival.
“They start out as very cute, very white, small, fluffy things, like cotton balls… then they get to this sort of dinosaur phase. They become quite gangly and clumsy, with hugely oversized feet and legs,” Digby says.
The fast-growing chicks need a lot of food, which explains why kākāpō can time their breeding season during heavy rimu fruiting.
Digby has been instrumental in creating the livestream, partly as an educational tool for those involved in its recovery, but also to fuel public curiosity about the birds.
“People love the characters and the relationship between the birds… they’re very interested in the fate of those chicks, what their weight curves are going to be,” he says, somewhat amusingly.
“It’s fascinating, that’s the kind of talk we do among our team and suddenly we have all the members of the public as engaged as we are – that’s quite exciting.”
