Sirocco

Sirocco returns to Orokonui again for this September. This will be his only appearance until at least 2020, as next year the team will be devoting all their time to supporting the next generation of kākāpō.

Introducing

Since our last newsletter we have had several new staff join the team. Dr Jodie Crane has joined us as Senior Ranger. Brodie Philp, Margie Grant and Nicki van Zyl have joined the team for the next twelve months to support the breeding season, and trainee Ranger Kerstin Schmidt will be working with us over the next two years. Our team will keep on growing with more staff recruitment planned to see us through this busy period.

We have also welcomed Anton Marsden to our team, who is supporting us with our new database development.

We recently welcomed Prof Dan Tompkins to our Recovery Group. Dan leads Predator Free 2050’s science strategy and is an honorary professor at the University of Otago.

Transmitter changes

Our Rangers have been working hard on Whenua Hou and Anchor Island over the last few months. Every kākāpō wears a radio transmitter, an important tool in monitoring their location, behaviour and health. Each year these transmitters are replaced, and this is often our one opportunity to check up on the birds and assess their health. With a growing population, transmitter changes can take three months to complete with a team of up to six people.

Sad news

The kākāpō population has fallen to 148 individuals after Jane was found dead on Anchor in August. Jane was one of the original founding kākāpō relocated from Rakiura and was thought to be one of the oldest. Unfortunately, she never bred successfully. Jane is a particularly significant kākāpō, as she has provided the reference genome for the kākāpō 125+ genomics project.