Wild Sounds: Kākāpō Files II

Six months after this record-breaking kākāpō breeding season began, all 91 living chicks have fledged and left the nest. The chicks remain with their kākāpō mums and are still being fed by them, as well as eating a range of plant material, and as cold wet midwinter weather sets in the chicks are learning to find dry roost sites. The Kākāpō Team’s Daryl Eason and Andrew Digby answer listener questions, including why did Kākāpō cam star Rakiura spend so much time in the nest digging, what can you learn from a piece of egg shell, and could old museum specimens be a source of lost kākāpō genes?
Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz
In this episode:
02:06 – Island news with ranger Daniella Whitaker
06:21 – Update on Kākāpō Cam star Rakiura
11:43 – Sick kākāpō
15:19 - Are kākāpō smart?
18:19 - Previous nest cams
20:05 - Why did Rakiura dig so much in her nest?
24:00 - Do kākāpō compete with other species?
25:30 - Kākāpō on Coal Island and at Sanctuary Mountain Mangatautari
30:57 - Museum specimens and lost genes
Learn more:
Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to date
Listen to the Voice of the Kākāpō series for a recap of the 2019 breeding season. Also listen to the episodes covering the interim 2022 breeding season, and about how a few male kākāpō have fared in the North Island, in the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari
For more New Zealand science and nature find and follow the Our Changing World podcast, and subscribe to the show’s monthly newsletter
Guests:
Kākāpō ranger, Daniella Whitaker, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
Kākāpō technical advisor, Daryl Eason, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
Kākāpō science advisor, Andrew Digby
References:
Kākāpō Files is made in collaboration with the Department of Conservation’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme.
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Half of the chicks from this record-breaking kākāpō breeding season have fledged and left their nests for good, but are still being fed by their mums. The tally of living chicks has dropped to 92 with the death of a chick from Te Kākahu/Chalky Island. Veterinary advisor Lydia Uddstrom reports that a 4-year-old female is being treated for cloacitis, a mysterious infection with no known cause that has infected a number of birds in the past few years. Kākāpō rangers give potted histories and breeding season updates for nine birds that are part of a symbolic adoption programme.
Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz.
In this episode:
00:00 – Introduction
01:00 – Vet Lydia Uddstrom with island news
06:24 - Adult female Tōrua treated for cloacitis
11:20 - Adoption birds
13:22 - JEM breeding season update
15:57 - Marama breeding season update
18:14 - Waikawa breeding season update
21:28 - Nora breeding season update
24:24 - Bluster Murphy breeding season update
27:05 - Sinbad breeding season update
29:55 - Kuia breeding season update
32:48 - Rahotu breeding season update
35:05 - Rangi rediscovered
37:50 - Closing credits
Learn more:
Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to date
Listen to the Voice of the Kākāpō series for a recap of the 2019 breeding season
Also listen to the episodes covering the interim 2022 breeding season, and about how a few male kākāpō have fared in the North Island, in the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari
For more New Zealand science and nature find and follow the Our Changing World podcast, and subscribe to the show’s monthly newsletter
Guests:
Kākāpō veterinary advisor, Lydia Uddstrom, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
Kākāpō ranger, Jess Wagner, Kākāpō Recovery Programme
Kākāpō ranger, Sarah Little
Kākāpō ranger, Theo Thompson
References:…
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The tally of confirmed living kākāpō chicks goes down with two further deaths, but gets a welcome boost with the confirmation of a living chick in a previously inaccessible nest. This brings the number of living chicks to 93, ranging in weight from 770 grams to nearly 2.5 kilograms. On all three kākāpō breeding islands, the oldest kākāpō chicks are fledging and leaving their nests. They are still accompanied and fed by their mothers, but find their own shelter. Before chicks leave the nest for good, kākāpō rangers visit to insert microchips as a permanent identification, and to attach transmitters that enable the Kākāpō Team to locate the chicks and monitor their activity levels remotely.
Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz.
In this episode:
00:00 – Introduction
02:34 – Big chick Huhū-A1 using a special ramp to leave the nest
05:23 – Ranger Petrus with the latest island news
06:44 - A chick is finally confirmed in Rimu’s cliff-top nest
10:09 - Two more of Waa’s chicks die so latest living chick tally is 93
11:46 - Update on Pearl-B3 and sick chicks
13:17 - Chick transmitters
19:55 - Tanē Davis on Ngāi Tahu’s relationship with kākāpō
27:35 - Vet Lydia Uddstrom and Vori’s story
32:34 - Closing credits…
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Alison Ballance spends a week on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, one of three kākāpō breeding islands. She follows rangers from DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme as they go about their daily and nightly nest visits to check on the rapidly growing chicks. All but one of the 23 nests on Whenua Hou have just a single chick, as the rimu fruit has failed to ripen and kākāpō mums are relying on supplementary food to raise their chicks. During the week, the chick Queenie-A3 is found dead, and there is news from Pukenui/Anchor Island of another chick dying in a flash flood that swept through the nest.
Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz.
In this episode:
00:00 – Introduction
01:12 – Sick chick Pearl-B3
05:32 – Chick check at Suzanne’s nest
09:53 – Young male booming
11:18 – qPCR sex testing
14:11 – Chick check at Tiaka’s nest
17:44 - Dead chick Queenie-A3
20:16 - Nest controller and the ‘train station’
24:18 – Supplementary feeding
27:25 – Chick dies in nest flood
29:05 – Heather’s nest check & closing thoughts
33:42 - Update on Pearl-B3
35:22 - Closing credits…
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme says that the 2026 kākāpō breeding season is officially the biggest on record, and that all chicks have now hatched. At least 256 eggs were laid in 80 nests, of which at least 106 hatched. There are currently 99 chicks alive, three of which are being treated at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital for various health problems. The oldest chick, Tīwhiri-A1-2026, is 46-days old and weighs 1.8 kg, while the youngest chick, Awarua-A3-2026, weighs 26 grams at 2-days old. Operations manager Deidre Vercoe says that preliminary sexing results show that about 40 percent of the chicks are female, and that rangers are starting to give the older chicks a permanent microchip for identification.
Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz.
In this episode:
00:00 – Introduction
01:16 – Deidre Vercoe with final nest and egg numbers
05:41 – Final chick hatching numbers
11:09 – Planning ahead
13:45 – Dunedin Wildlife Hospital vet Dr Lisa Argilla
20:32 – Rimu fruiting & its role in breeding
27.30 – Supplementary feeding on Whenua Hou
32:10 - Closing credits
…
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details