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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Eva Corlett in Wellington

Kākāpō rising: 90 chicks swell population of the world’s heaviest parrot

Close-up of a kākāpō, a yellow-green speckled flightless parrot, in a forest
Ninety kākāpō chicks were officially added to the population of the critically endangered birds on 1 September, a record high. Photograph: Department of Conservation

The population of the world’s heaviest parrot, the kākāpō, has surpassed 300 birds for the first time in 75 years, after a record breeding season triggered by the mass fruiting of a native New Zealand tree.

Ninety chicks were officially added to the population of the critically endangered birds on 1 September, pushing the total to 325 – a record high since recovery efforts began.

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