The oldest chick of the 2026 kākāpō breeding season, Tiwhiri-A1 has reached 150 days old and can be officially counted. This milestone increases the kākāpō population by one bird to 236, the first time it has risen in 4 years. The first chicks to reach independence are roosting away from their mums and feeding themselves, and two chicks have dropped their transmitters and are now “off-grid”. With the threat of deadly H5N1 bird flu looming, vet Lydia Uddstrom explains that about a quarter of the most genetically valuable kākāpō will be vaccinated against bird flu, especially on Whenua Hou, which has a large population of seabirds.
Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz.
In this episode:
00:00 – Introduction 02:30 – Island news with ranger Louise Porter 13:45 – Highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu 17:28 - Vet Lydia Uddstrom on bird flu vaccinations 26:10 - How do kākāpō contract aspergillosis 27:37 - Are any kākāpō on display 28:20 - Frozen sperm 29:17 - How kākāpō use space 37:06 - Are kākāpō cuddly 38:00 - Closing credits…
