Auckland Zoo staff are heavily involved in what is set to be a bumper breeding year for Aotearoa’s endemic parrot! Our vet team and bird keepers are on Anchor Island and Whenua Hou (Codfish Island) working with our friends at Kākāpō Recovery to monitor, hand-rear, and transport chicks.

The first kākāpō chick of 2019 left its shell on January 30th, and as of today, an amazing 11 chicks have since hatched out! Our staff were on hand to help transfer these days-old chicks to The Wildlife Hospital - Dunedin where they will be cared for, while the team continues their work on the islands.

With 147 adult kākāpō on Aotearoa’s predator-free islands, this number is set to increase, with more chicks to come in the following weeks and months.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Video

Richard's Wild Work for kākāpō!

Watch as Richard explains his lifelong passion to help save kākāpō