Page 7 - Whenua Hou News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

New Zealand has already forced one penguin species into extinction — will the rockhopper, hoiho or little blue follow?

Tutū the cheeky kākāpō succumbed to an accidental injury while roaming in the wild on Anchor Island in Fiordland during the weekend.

“What we're doing is a little bit different, we're going to be sequencing individual chromosomes, so we're narrowing it down,” she said. There is growing evidence differences in DNA structure play an important role in determining other reproductive traits in birds, she said. “Our research will use new and established techniques to explore the genetic basis of early hatching failure in kākāpō. “We believe this knowledge will transform the way we manage endangered species.” Bruce Mercer/Stuff Sirocco the kākāpō at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari in Hamilton. The kākāpō ...

DOC kākāpō operations manager Deidre Vercoe says the critically endangered parrot only breeds when rimu trees put out masses of fruit (what's known as a...

Fossil records indicate that in pre-Polynesian times, the kākāpō was New Zealand's third most common bird. However, their numbers have declined by 80 per cent in the past 100 years. They are the heaviest parrot species in the world with females weighing around 1.4 kg, and males 2.2 kg. The country’s kākāpō population currently lives on just four predator-free islands – Codfish Island/Whenua Hou, Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island, Chalky Island/Te Kakahu, and Anchor Island. With no predator-free islands big enough to accommodate them, the only option is for DOC to find an ...