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Keeping kakapo alive - stuff.co.nz
Keeping alive New Zealand's most endangered chicks is a never-ending procedure of changing into white suits, gumboots, more white suits, feeding, washing, and sterilising for the National Kakapo Recovery Team.
And it's a full-on job when there are almost two dozen chicks needing around-the-clock attention.Twenty-two have been taken off Codfish Island, near Stewart Island, to a special location in Invercargill to be hand-reared to secure their survival.
The chicks are among 34 to hatch this breeding season, bringing the critically endangered population to 125.
Team leader Deidre Vercoe said bad weather during summer had meant not enough rimu fruit had ripened on the island for all 27 mothers to feed their chicks.
"We knew it was going to be a cracker breeding season, but we didn't know exactly how many chicks there would be, or if there would be enough food." More on stuff.co.nz
