Kakapos: The grace of slowness

The kakapo is one of the largest flightless parrots in the world. Originally, it was widespread across much of New Zealand, but it is now severely threatened with extinction and occurs only in certain nature reserves. Intense protective measures and programmes are intended to ensure the survival of the species.

Plump, slow, flightless and indeed not a master of reproduction, the kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) is truly no survivor. If, in the animal world, the attributes fast, strong, skilful, majestic, intelligent or elegant would be regarded as a measure for positive things, then the Kakapo would not perform particularly well. But despite or perhaps because of this incompetence in perfection, a strange fascination emanates from the big parrot.

The kakapo represents the single representative from the subfamily of the Strigopinae. The parrot, with moss-green plumage, grows to 60 cm and weighs 3-4 kg. As an endemic species, it is exclusively native to New Zealand. Because of the high-risk situation in recent decades, including the increasing loss of habitat and the threat of imported land predators, the populations known to exist have been resettled to smaller, uninhabited islands previously freed from imported predators.

Due to New Zealand's geographically isolated location and the absence of land mammals, birds have established themselves as the most successful animal group on the green island. Because they have never had to adapt to predators, some species have lost the ability to fly, including the kakapo. It moves relatively slowly, is exclusively terrestrial, and has no flight instinct, thereby becoming increasingly prey to invasive land predators such as cats, dogs, or martens.

The reproductive behaviour of the Kakapos is particularly extraordinary. Mating occurs in arenas, so-called "Leks", which is atypical for most parrot species. During mating season, males leave their territories to visit leks, which are typically located on hills. Here, they construct their individual mating space as an approximately 50 cm-wide hollow, which is regularly cleared of leaves and small branches.

The males fight for the best spot with loud humming and croaking, flapping wings and feather spreads. The females, which also leave their territories and visit the leks, gather around the males and observe their fights. If the female has chosen a male, the two animals copulate. The female then returns to her territory and lays about two to four eggs, which are subsequently incubated. The male continues mating to find additional females for reproduction. During the mating season, the male is very sexually excitable. Reports indicate that male kakapos have attempted to mate with branches or a rolled-up sweater.

In general, the kakapo reproduces extremely slowly, which further exacerbates its precarious situation. Males begin with their combination calls only from the 5. year of life, females are only from the 9th year of life to the combination-ready from. In addition, Kakapos do not reproduce every year, but only if the food supply allows it, as a rule every three to five years.

The kakapo populations released on New Zealand's offshore small islands are now recovering. Due to their high level of protection, however, the uninhabited islands may be entered only by professional conservationists and researchers. The population has grown from an estimated 22 animals in 1986 to approximately 140 in 2015; in 2019, it was estimated at approximately 200 individuals. However, there is still a long way to go before the species can be sustainably safeguarded, and it is still unclear whether it will finally become extinct.