BBC personality names kakapo chick
15 Oct 2009
A British zoologist who had an encounter of the mating kind with an endangered kakapo during filming for the BBC in New Zealand, has had the honour of naming one of the rare parrots.
Mark Carwardine, presenter of the BBC’s ‘Last Chance to See’ series on endangered animals, strengthened his relationship with New Zealand’s rare kakapo when the programme filmed the plight of the parrots earlier this year.
During filming, NZ celebrity pin-up parrot Sirocco took a shine to Carwardine and attempted to mate with him. The amusing footage has screened around the world with more than a million hits for his YouTube video and has been the talk of Twitter and Facebook.
Now the story of the rare encounter between two celebrities from different backgrounds and opposite sides of the world has a new chapter.
Mark’s chick
One of the 32 successfully reared chicks from this year's breeding season became Mark’s chick - to name, at least.
"It was a real honour to have the opportunity to name one of these magnificent animals," Mark said.
"I chose the name Jemma after the daughter of a good friend. She’s only eight years-old and has already developed a passion for wildlife and conservation. It is a great step in ensuring that the kakapo conservation story is passed on to the next generation.
"As well as this, Jemma means gem or jewel - which are obviously precious - as is the kakapo," said Carwardine.
Flightless parrots
The zoologist first travelled to see the huge flightless parrots in New Zealand in the late 1980s at a time when kakapo, which had once thrived throughout the country, numbered just 40 and were the subject of a conservation programme that has since become the template for saving species.
The remaining kakapo were rounded up and transferred to Codfish Island, off the south of the South Island, which had been cleared of all predators. They were watched over by volunteers who charted their every move as they fought to spare the animal from extinction.
Breeding habits
Carwardine and co-presenter Stephen Fry spent time with the volunteers in the ‘Last Chance to See’ programme and learned about the bird’s breeding habits.
The male kakapo clears a bowl shaped area in the earth for the female to inspect, meticulously keeping it spick and span, but the birds won’t mate unless native rimu trees have a certain percentage of fruit on them.
Since the filming of ‘Last Chance to See’, a successful breeding season has meant that there are now 32 more kakapo than when Fry and Carwardine stepped onto the island in January 2009. This has brought the bird’s precarious population up to 124 - the first time their numbers have topped 100 in decades.
Proud moment
"The extraordinary efforts of everyone involved in the kakapo recovery project has resulted in a hugely successful breeding season. It’s a proud moment for everyone involved and if our success continues perhaps one day kakapo won’t need to be filmed in future 'Last Chance to See' programmes," Kakapo Recovery team leader Deirdre Vercoe said.
Certainly Carwardine’s encounter with kakapo will be remembered for a long time. Apart from suggestions that the entertaining footage of the mating attempt will be shown in film outakes programmes for years to come, Mark’s chick Jemma is also likely to be around for some time. Kakapo is possibly the longest living bird species in the world and all going well, Jemma should live until she is at least 90 years old.
More information:
'Last chance to see' kakapo encounter
Iconic New Zealand birds
Bird conservation in New Zealand
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