New Zealand’s critically endangered kākāpō population has climbed above 300 birds for the first time in around 75 years, following a record breeding season fuelled by an abundance of rimu berries.
According to a report by the Guardian, ninety chicks were officially added to the population on September 1, bringing the total number of kākāpō to 325, the highest level recorded since conservation recovery efforts began.
Deidre Vercoe, the Department of Conservation’s kākāpō recovery operations manager, said the milestone was particularly significant after a four-year gap between breeding seasons.
“The last time the population is thought to have exceeded 300 birds may have been as long as 75 years ago,” said Deidre Vercoe, the conservation department’s kākāpō recovery operations manager, as quoted by the Guardian.
“We had a four-year gap between breeding seasons, so it’s fantastic to finally see the population increase after all that time.”
Kākāpō are the world’s only nocturnal and flightless parrots. Once widespread across New Zealand, their numbers collapsed following the introduction of predators including cats and stoats, leaving the species close to extinction by the 1900s.
According to the Guardian, dedicated recovery programme was launched in 1995 when only 51 kākāpō remained. Since then, conservationists have faced challenges including limited genetic diversity, infertility and low chick-hatching rates. Today, the birds are kept on three predator-free islands off New Zealand’s South Island.
The species breeds only every two to four years, generally when native rimu trees produce large quantities of berries. After waiting four years for favourable conditions, the plentiful rimu harvest this year prompted widespread breeding and resulted in the largest number of chicks recorded in a single season.
“In the early years of recovery, it took 16 years to produce that many chicks,” Vercoe said, the Guardian has quoted.
Kākāpō can live for between 60 and 80 years and weigh up to 4kg. Their unusual behaviour has also attracted worldwide attention, with more than 100,000 people watching a livestream of one kākāpō sleeping, eating and caring for her nest and chicks during the latest breeding season.
The birds have distinctive mating rituals. Male kākāpō gather in groups known as a “lek”, where they sit in specially dug ground bowls and produce deep booming calls using air sacs in their chests. The sound can travel up to 5km, as reported by the Guardian.
Females typically lay between one and four eggs after mating and are solely responsible for raising their eggs and chicks for about six months.
Once chicks reach around 150 days old, they are considered independent and are officially counted in the population. The youngest chick from the 2026 breeding season was female Awarua-A3, which hatched on March 30, as reported by the Guardian.
Conservation modelling suggests the next breeding season could arrive as early as 2028.
“So, while we’ll take a moment to stop and reflect on this remarkable year, we’re already looking ahead to 2028 and preparing for what could come next,” as quoted by the Guardian.