Nature / Sustainable Tourism

Treasured bird

The kakapo is a ground-dwelling parrot whose numbers have been decimated by predators such as stoats, cats, rats and dogs. In the 1950s the New Zealand Wildlife Service embarked on a programme to save the kakapo but despite their best efforts, by 1995 there were only 50 known kakapo surviving. Today, with the efforts of the Department of Conservation, sponsors Comalco, and the Forest and Bird Society, there are 86 kakapo. 2002 was a bumper year for kakapo, proving the programme is working, with 24 chicks surviving. The kakapo is a taonga (treasure) to the Ngai Tahu iwi (tribe) of the South Island.

These topics may also be of interest to you

• Nature / Sustainable Tourism