Five kakapo, the world's rarest parrot, have been moved from their sanctuary in the Marlborough Sounds.
The last kakapo were removed from Maud Island last Friday and sent to Chalky Island in Fiordland.
Maud Island has been used as a haven for kakapo for 30 years but breeding has been minimal. It
is expected to be better on Chalky, which has recently been cleared of stoats.
Conservation Minister Chris Carter said Maud Island had played a pivotal role in bringing kakapo back from the edge of extinction.
The first two parrots were taken there in 1974.
Kakapo are most likely to breed when there is plenty of rimu or beech seed for food, and where rats and stoats have been eradicated.
"With that in mind we are concentrating our kakapo conservation efforts on pest-free islands with rimu and beech, which Maud does not have," Mr Carter said.
Kakapo numbers on Maud peaked in 2000, when there were 18, but while the birds were safe, they showed little inclination to breed.
The kakapo is a flightless, nocturnal herbivore up to 60cm in length and weighing as much as 3.5kg.
The total population stands at 86 following a bumper breeding season last year that saw 24 chicks survive.
Recovery programmes for takahe and giant weta will continue on Maud Island.
- NZPA
Herald Feature: Conservation and Environment
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