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BohoBio Bio
Hello, my name is Popo, and this is my BohoBio Bio
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Name : Popo the Kakapo
Scientific Name : Strigops habroptilus Other Name : owl parrot, night parrot, Tarapo Home : forest on Maud Island, New Zealand Favorite Food : fruit of the rimu tree, other fruits, roots, nuts, leaves, moss or fungi Personality : shy, keep to myself, creature of the night, loud and chatty on occasion Best Features : long toes and claws, energy conservation, extra long lifespan Biggest Concerns : waiting for New Zealand to get rid of predators from our original home islands so we can return Shout out : Kākāpō Recovery Programme Video : |
WHERE I’M FROM
A long time ago, my kakapo ancestors lived happily across both main islands of New Zealand. Our population started to decline when the Māori people arrived around 750 years ago. They hunted us for our meat and feathers, and they also brought the Polynesian rat with them which liked to eat our eggs. Our decline increased rapidly after European colonization of New Zealand in early 1800’s. They turned our home forests into farm and Pasteur land, and they brought cats, ferrets, stoats, and black rats that all ate our eggs and chicks. Also, since the Europeans found us to be cute and interesting, they captured and sold us to zoos and private collectors. By the early 1980’s all know kakapos on the north and south islands of New Zealand were gone. A small population of kakapos was surviving on Stewart Island, but they were declining due to cats. So, all of these kakapos were moved to a few different islands that had forests but didn’t have any kakapo predators. That is where we live today, in the forests of small, predator-free islands in New Zealand.
TRAITS & ABILITIES
I am a parrot, but quite unlike the parrots you find in South America. I am much bigger that the average parrot with males weighing up to 4 kg and females up to 2.5 kg. Our bodies are covered in lovely green feathers that have tinged with yellow and black. We have wings but can’t fly. Flapping our wings do help to soften the landing when we jump or fall out of trees. We have large, 3-toed feet with strong claws that allow us to climb trees and dig up roots to find food. Our beaks are also strong, and we use them to crack open nuts and other hard food sources. Because we don’t fly, we don’t use as much energy as other birds, which means we don’t have to eat as much to survive.
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FAMILY LIFE
We kakapos have impressive longevity. We live an average of about 50 years but can live up to 90 years or more. With such a long lifespan, we don’t have to breed every year to grow our population. Typically, we breed every 2 – 4 years, usually timed with the appearance of fruits on the rimu tree. That happens in the summer, which in New Zealand is between December and March. Before we can mate, we have to find each other. To help with this, males gather in one place and dig bowl-shaped holes called leks in the ground. The leks are then connected by walking paths, and the males compete with each other for the best leks. When settled, the males start making loud “booming” calls to attract females from as far as 5 km away. They continue booming away every night until they succeed in attracting a female to their lek. After that, the male is done and the female does the rest, making a nest, laying 1 to 4 eggs in it, protecting the eggs for a month until they hatch, and then feeding the cute white chicks for up to 6 months until they are ready to go foraging on their own.
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PRESENT & FUTURE
We kakapos are very rare right now with less than 300 remaining so we are classified as critically endangered. Luckily, humans care about us and are working hard to keep us from going extinct. They are following us so closely that we all have human names derived from English and the Māori languages. One of my friends is called Sirocco and has become quite famous amongst humans and can be seen on videos like this one. The New Zealand government has set up a Kakapo recovery program to help us survive and try to get rid of predators in other parts of New Zealand so that we can return and grow our population there.
