Aotearoa’s critically endangered little green parrot, kākāriki, is set to increase in numbers this summer.
The Isaac Conservation Trust hopes to release more than 100 young orange-fronted kākāriki into the Hawdon Valley in Arthur’s Pass.
Kākāriki are our rarest forest bird, classified as nationally critical – the Department of Conservation’s category for species facing the highest risk of extinction.
In fact, numbers have dropped so low that the species has been declared extinct twice in the past, says DOC’s kākāriki recovery programme operations manager Wayne Beggs.
Beggs said orange-fronted kākāriki were thriving in the early 1800s until a spike in predator numbers devastated its population, with only 200 counted in 2016.
Surviving populations were found deep in the Nelson and Canterbury forests, bringing them back from the brink.
The number of orange-fronted kākāriki has nearly doubled in the past six years, and the Isaac Conservation Trust is hoping this summer’s release will give the population a boost, but it’s “slow progress”.
However, Beggs raised concerns that climate change will have a negative impact on the species, saying “predators will survive the more mild winters.”
“There's still quite a long way to go with these guys.”
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