Kakapo

Kakapos

Kakapos are cute, funny, cheeky and sweet. A Kakapo is a Maori word for “night parrot”.  Some kakapos can live for ninety years that is a very long time to live. But kakapos are endangered, kakapo are only found in New Zealand and there are less than ninety left. When a male Kakapo has fully grown they can be measured up to 60 centimetres, and weigh up to 4 kilograms but the female are usually smaller. Kakapo are herbivores because their favourite foods always includes berries. Especially berries from rimu trees, fruits, nuts mostly almonds, seeds, leaves, tussock, grass, fern roots and lastly moss. Long ago Kakapos did fly that’s why they still have wings but they don’t fly anymore. Most Kakapo eat a very special muesli made by DOC stuff. It’s important for Kakapo to stay healthy to breed and care for their young. Kakapo muesli contains flour, tapioca along with goodies like almonds, manuka honey and spirulina. This muesli is fed to Kakapo in the wild during spring and summer. Kakapo mothers feed their babies by swallowing the food and bringing it up later into their chicks mouths. DOC staff don’t do what the mothers do but instead they squirt food into the chicks mouths by using a tube and a syringe. Then they have to stroke the birds throats so the food can’t get stuck. Kakapo have green feathers which help them to hide in with the undergrowth, kakapo are a kind of parrot, but different from all the other parrots. The kakapo learnt to stay still so they wouldn't be seen by the giant eagle. The few Kakapo that remain live on two small islands Codfish Island (Whenua Hou) and also Anchor Island. They are now protected by the national Kakapo team.