The Kéképé

The kakapo is a nocturnal, flightless parrot that is critically endangered and one of New Zealand ‘s unique treasures. The kakapo, also known as the owl parrot, is a large, forest-dwelling bird, with a pale owl-like face. Up to 64 cm in length, it has predominantly yellow-green feathers, forward-facing eyes, a large grey beak, large blue feet, and relatively short wings and tail. It is the world’s only flightless parrot, and is also possibly one of the world’s longest-living birds, with a reported lifespan of up to 100 years. Kakapo are solitary birds and tend to occupy the same home range for many years. They forage on the ground and climb high into trees. They often leap from trees and flap their wings, but at best manage a controlled descent to the ground. They are entirely vegetarian, with their diet including the leaves, roots and bark of trees as well as bulbs, and fern fronds. Kakapo breed in summer and autumn, but only in years when food is plentiful. Males play no part in incubation or chick-rearing – females alone incubate eggs and feed the chicks. The 1-4 eggs are laid in soil, which is repeatedly turned over before and during incubation. The female kakapo has to spend long periods away from the nest searching for food, which leaves the unattended eggs and chicks particularly vulnerable to predators. Before humans arrived, kakapo were common throughout New Zealand’s forests. However, this all changed with the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers about 700 years ago. For the early settlers, the flightless kakapo was easy prey. They ate its meat and used…