Precious old parrot brings genes home

Richard Henry, a 50-year-old kakapo, is home in his native Fiordland amid hopes his rare genes could help re-establish the birds on the Mainland.

Richard Henry is not only the oldest living kakapo, he is the last known surviving kakapo from Fiordland, and from mainland New Zealand.

Steve Ward, the ranger on Maud Island, in Pelorus Sound, said Richard Henry was a key bird in the kakapo population because of his Fiordland genes.

"He even looks different to the other birds - he's lighter, and his three offspring are, too," he said.

Fiordland's Chalky Island, 2km from the mainland, has podocarp and beech trees, both important food sources for kakapo in the breeding season,

"The beech and podocarp don't always mast [fruit] at the same time, but we recently found out the beech is masting, so we're transferring the birds to take advantage of that," he said.

It was hoped Richard Henry could still breed to take advantage of the beech masting, but it is not known at what age kakapo stop breeding.

Mr Ward said the team had high hopes the beech fruit would help Richard Henry breed, so his rare Fiordland genes could spread throughout the kakapo gene pool.

Four years ago, Richard Henry mated successfully and produced three chicks, the first time he had bred successfully in more than 20 years.

Richard Henry was captured in 1975 by conservationist Don Merton, who transferred him to better conditions on Maud Island.

He lived on Maud until he was transferred to Little Barrier Island in 1982. He was brought back to Maud in 1996.

Department of Conservation (DoC) team leader for the kakapo recovery project Paul Jansen said the ultimate goal was to have a self-supporting kakapo population back on the mainland, living in a protected mainland "island" environment.

"That's not possible yet - but this is a step along the way."

He said kakapo were amazingly adaptable.

"They're able to survive in different environments, and they live off the smell of an oily rag."

DoC transferred Richard Henry and three other kakapo from Maud to their new home on Chalky (Te Kakahu) Island this week.

The transfer of 14 birds - six males and eight females - from Maud and Codfish (Whenua Hou) Island, near Stewart Island, went smoothly, organisers said.

The birds were taken by helicopter and plane from Maud early on Tuesday morning, accompanied by kakapo project team members and Ngati Kuia representatives.

The team members and veterinarians arrived on Maud last week to check the birds' health and capture them in time for the move.

The transfer of birds from Codfish is necessary because of increasingly limited space on the island after a recent bumper breeding season during which the kakapo population increased from 62 to 86.

But for one very special bird, the transfer is more of a homecoming.

- NZPA

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