{"id":518577,"date":"2026-04-08T00:29:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T00:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/518577\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T00:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T00:29:13","slug":"worlds-fattest-parrot-on-the-verge-of-extinction-30-years-ago-has-record-breaking-breeding-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/518577\/","title":{"rendered":"World’s fattest parrot \u2014 on the verge of extinction 30 years ago \u2014 has record-breaking breeding season"},"content":{"rendered":"

A critically endangered bird that almost went extinct 30 years ago just recorded a major milestone: The k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d recovery program in New Zealand has celebrated the 105th k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d egg to hatch \u202a\u2014\u202c the largest number since records began 30 years ago, according to the New Zealand broadcaster RNZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In an updated chick count<\/a> released April 3, representatives from the New Zealand Department of Conservation said 105 k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d chicks had hatched from 256 eggs laid. Of these, 98 chicks are still alive. One egg remains in an incubator.<\/p>\n

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The achievement hints that the species, which reproduces only every two to four years, may be making a comeback. The k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d<\/a> (Strigops habroptilus) is a critically endangered, flightless parrot that is found only in New Zealand. They are the world’s fattest and heaviest parrots, with males weighing up to 8.8 pounds (4 kilograms).<\/p>\n

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Hunting, habitat destruction and the introduction of new predators have led k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d populations to plummet, and the species almost went extinct in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

These birds reproduce only every two to four years, and most females hatch only one chick per breeding season, compounding their vulnerability. Today there are an estimated 235 k\u0101k\u0101p\u014ds remaining in the wild.<\/a><\/p>\n

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A kakapo chick with its mother in a nest. (Image credit: DOC)<\/p>\n

Not all of the newly hatched chicks will survive, however. Sarah Manktelow, K\u0101k\u0101p\u014d Recovery Programme ranger told RNZ’s K\u0101k\u0101p\u014d Files<\/a> podcast that seven chicks have died so far and four have been transported to Dunedin Wildlife Hospital for treatment. K\u0101k\u0101p\u014d chicks are classified as adults when they reach 150 days old, which will be in mid-July.<\/p>\n

The official chick count for this breeding season will be confirmed at this point. The oldest chick is now over 50 days old.<\/p>\n

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“Every new chick brings the species further from the brink of extinction,” Deidre Vercoe, the Department of Conservation’s operations manager for kakapo told Mongabay<\/a>. “There’s always a sense of hope and optimism for the future.”<\/p>\n

How much do you know about birds? Test your smarts with our bird quiz! <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A critically endangered bird that almost went extinct 30 years ago just recorded a major milestone: The k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-518577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom","11":"tag-unitedkingdom","12":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}