Strigops habroptila

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	Psittaciformes	Psittacidae

Scientific Name:

Strigops habroptila

Species Authority:

Gray, 1845

Common Name/s:

English	–	Kakapo, Owl Parrot
Spanish	–	Cacapo

Synonym/s:

Strigops habroptilus

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered A2be; C2a(ii) ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2009

Assessor/s

BirdLife International

Evaluator/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S., Symes, A.(BirdLife International)

Justification:
This species only survives in a tiny population on four offshore islands and therefore qualifies as Critically Endangered. With the instigation of intensive management in 1995, numbers are now increasing, but the population trend over the last three generations has still been negative.

History:

2008	–	Critically Endangered
2006	–	Critically Endangered
2004	–	Critically Endangered
2000	–	Critically Endangered
1994	–	Extinct in the Wild
1988	–	Threatened

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Strigops habroptila formerly occurred throughout most of the North, South and Stewart Islands, New Zealand. Although it disappeared from most of its original range in the wake of human colonisation, the species remained abundant in Fiordland and some other higher-rainfall and more sparsely inhabited parts of South Island until the early twentieth century¹. By 1976, however, the known population had been reduced to 18 birds, all males, all in Fiordland. In 1977, a rapidly declining population of c.150 birds was discovered on Stewart Island. Between 1980 and 1992, 61 remaining Stewart Island birds were transferred to offshore islands^3,7,8,10, and are presently located on Codfish and Anchor Islands¹⁶. The last accepted North Island record was in 1927, the last South Island record of three males in Fiordland in 1987, and the last Stewart Island record of a female found and transferred to Codfish Island in 1997¹⁷. In 2009 a male which was one of four transferred from Stewart to Codfish in 1987 was refound after having been missing for 21 years²³. It is likely to be extinct in its natural range, and as of November 2005 birds were present on four islands: Codfish, Chalky, Anchor and Maud¹⁷. In 1999, 26 females and 36 males survived⁹, comprising 50 individuals of breeding age, six subadults and six juveniles. The population stabilised, and has begun to slowly increase^3,4,10 following the implementation of intensive management^3,9,10. By 2005, the kakapo population stood at 86¹³, of which 52 were breeding adults (21 females and 31 males) and 34 were juveniles^12,13, and a productive breeding year in 2009 saw the total population increase to 111 birds, including 20 chicks²⁴.
Countries:	Native: New Zealand
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	In 2008, the total population was 93 individuals (including the seven hatched in 2008) (Hirschfeld 2008). With just 55 breeding adults in 2007, the number of mature individuals (sensu IUCN 2001) remains <60.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This large, flightless, nocturnal parrot feeds on leaves, stems, roots, fruit, nectar and seeds and prior to human colonisation it formerly inhabited a range of vegetation types throughout most of the North, South and Stewart Islands. It breeds once every two to five years, coinciding with periodic superabundant seeding or fruiting periods of key podocarp plant species: on Codfish, Stewart and Pearl Islands nesting has only occurred when rimu Dacrydium cupressinum or pink pine Halocarpus biformis fruit has been abundant¹⁸. Males cluster in traditional lekking sites and advertise their presence by calling each night for about three months, with mating occurring mainly between January and early March¹⁷. 1-4 eggs are laid, all parental care is performed by the female, and eggs and chicks are left unattended for several hours at night. Female kakapo take nine to 11 years to reach breeding age, and may live at least 90 years¹². One productive male is at least 30 years old, and probably much older. Adult survivorship is now more than 99% per year^{1,2,3,5,8,9,10}.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

This large, flightless, nocturnal parrot feeds on leaves, stems, roots, fruit, nectar and seeds and prior to human colonisation it formerly inhabited a range of vegetation types throughout most of the North, South and Stewart Islands. It breeds once every two to five years, coinciding with periodic superabundant seeding or fruiting periods of key podocarp plant species: on Codfish, Stewart and Pearl Islands nesting has only occurred when rimu Dacrydium cupressinum or pink pine Halocarpus biformis fruit has been abundant¹⁸. Males cluster in traditional lekking sites and advertise their presence by calling each night for about three months, with mating occurring mainly between January and early March¹⁷. 1-4 eggs are laid, all parental care is performed by the female, and eggs and chicks are left unattended for several hours at night. Female kakapo take nine to 11 years to reach breeding age, and may live at least 90 years¹². One productive male is at least 30 years old, and probably much older. Adult survivorship is now more than 99% per year^{1,2,3,5,8,9,10}.

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	On Stewart Island, over 50% of monitored adults were killed each year by cats¹. Abnormally low egg fertility and exceedingly low natural reproductive and recruitment rates are major concerns. In 2004, three juveniles died of septicaemia caused by the bacteria Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae (erysipelas), a disease which had not previously been reported in the species¹².

Major Threat(s):

On Stewart Island, over 50% of monitored adults were killed each year by cats¹. Abnormally low egg fertility and exceedingly low natural reproductive and recruitment rates are major concerns. In 2004, three juveniles died of septicaemia caused by the bacteria Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae (erysipelas), a disease which had not previously been reported in the species¹².

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation actions underway: CITES Appendix I and II. Supplementary feeding has increased the success of breeding attempts, and may be able to be used to trigger breeding: supplementary foods with low macronutrient:calcium ratios may be most effective in supporting increased reproduction^3,10,19,21. All individuals are radio-tagged, and tracked throughout the year. Each nest is monitored continuously using infra-red video cameras, and heat pads are placed over eggs and nestlings while females forage. In 1998, the Polynesian rat Rattus exulans (a predator of eggs and nestlings) was eradicated from Codfish¹⁰. Extensive research is ongoing^4,6. Methods of hand-rearing chicks are being refined. Reducing supplementary feeding levels has been shown to increase the percentage of female chicks produced and may redress the skewed gender balance^11,15. Genetic diversity of the remaining population is managed to improve hatching rates¹⁴. Translocations have been carried out to take advantage of locally abundant food supplies and increase the frequency of breeding attempts¹⁴. Trials of artificial insemination methods have taken place²⁰, and in 2009 a female which had been artificially inseminated laid two fertile eggs²³. In 2008 seven chicks hatched on Codfish Island were transferred to specialised facilities to be hand-raised as rimu fruit failed to ripen²². A search for any remaining birds in Fiordland was completed in 2006 with no birds found and no evidence of their continued existence. A Kakapo Recovery Plan (the third since 1989), produced in partnership between the Department of Conservation, Forest & Bird and Rio Tinto Alcan (formerly Comalco), covers the period 2006-2015. Conservation actions proposed: Continue research to identify key factors that limit breeding frequency and productivity, and address these urgently². Maintain existing management practices that have facilitated a recent increase in the population.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation actions underway:

CITES Appendix I and II. Supplementary feeding has increased the success of breeding attempts, and may be able to be used to trigger breeding: supplementary foods with low macronutrient:calcium ratios may be most effective in supporting increased reproduction^3,10,19,21. All individuals are radio-tagged, and tracked throughout the year. Each nest is monitored continuously using infra-red video cameras, and heat pads are placed over eggs and nestlings while females forage. In 1998, the Polynesian rat Rattus exulans (a predator of eggs and nestlings) was eradicated from Codfish¹⁰. Extensive research is ongoing^4,6. Methods of hand-rearing chicks are being refined. Reducing supplementary feeding levels has been shown to increase the percentage of female chicks produced and may redress the skewed gender balance^11,15. Genetic diversity of the remaining population is managed to improve hatching rates¹⁴. Translocations have been carried out to take advantage of locally abundant food supplies and increase the frequency of breeding attempts¹⁴. Trials of artificial insemination methods have taken place²⁰, and in 2009 a female which had been artificially inseminated laid two fertile eggs²³. In 2008 seven chicks hatched on Codfish Island were transferred to specialised facilities to be hand-raised as rimu fruit failed to ripen²². A search for any remaining birds in Fiordland was completed in 2006 with no birds found and no evidence of their continued existence. A Kakapo Recovery Plan (the third since 1989), produced in partnership between the Department of Conservation, Forest & Bird and Rio Tinto Alcan (formerly Comalco), covers the period 2006-2015.

Conservation actions proposed:

Continue research to identify key factors that limit breeding frequency and productivity, and address these urgently². Maintain existing management practices that have facilitated a recent increase in the population.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Strigops habroptila. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 November 2009.
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