Hopes high for kakapo

Of the bumper crop of 26 kakapo chicks that hatched this season, just two died, boosting the critically endangered bird's numbers by almost 40 per cent.

At a function in Wellington yesterday to mark 10 years of the Kakapo Recovery Programme, Prime Minister Helen Clark said there was new hope for the flightless parrot's future.

There are now 86 kakapo, up from 62 at the start of the breeding season. A naming competition for the chicks attracted 4000 entries. Some of the successful names were Ariki (chief), Rakiura (Stewart Island) and Blake (after Sir Peter).

The kakapo project, financed by Comalco, is run by the Department of Conservation with help from Forest and Bird.

nzherald.co.nz/environment