love is in the air…
The frenzy of kakapo breeding activity continues on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island with the discovery of new matings and nests an almost daily occurrence.
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Last night, kakapo rangers found two eggs on Heather’s nest, which were candled – a light shone into them to see if a chick was growing inside. Excitingly, both are fertile.
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Also last night, a single egg was finally spotted in Ellie’s nest, which is yet to be checked for fertility. Ellie was conceived on Little Barrier Island in 1999 – her parents are breeding gurus Lisa and Ox. This is the first time she has mated so is an exciting time, particularly because she’s a bird hatched and initially raised in captivity. She has two sisters, Aranga and Hauturu – Aranga, also a first-time mum-to-be, has three fertile eggs but Hauturu has not yet mated.
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To date, the egg tally is 29, with 15 fertile, excluding Lisa’s one fertile egg that died only days before it was due to hatch. Every fertile egg is a potential chick and offers high hopes for new additions to the kakapo population, currently at 91 birds.
source: kakaporecovery.org.nz: ranger’s diaries (article by deidre mussen)