\n<\/p>\n
On an island in New Zealand\u2019s remote southern fjords, one of the world\u2019s strangest and rarest parrots \u2013 the k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d \u2013 is caring for her tiny chick as fans from across the globe watch on.<\/p>\n
Through the black and white lens of a hidden camera, a fluffy orb with a kazoo-like squeak jostles for food from its mother\u2019s beak. The mother, Rakiura, is attentive \u2013 scooping her chick under her large green wings, fending off an intruding bird, and periodically tidying her nest.<\/p>\n
Since New Zealand\u2019s Department of Conservation launched its live stream in mid-January, more than 100,000 people have tuned in to watch Rakiura during breeding season.<\/p>\n
In a chat forum attached to the live stream, fans monitor progress and comment on each moment with glee. Some congratulate the mother on her chicks, while others offer up name suggestions. Conservationists are pinning hopes on this being a record breeding year for the threatened bird \u2013 Rakiura has already had three chicks hatch.<\/p>\n
At any given time there are more than 100 people watching her, even as she sleeps for hours on end. On the forum, many discuss why this rare look into the elusive lives of the k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d resonates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis site is my lovely distraction from all the terrible things happening in the world around us,\u201d writes one viewer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2018m following the story of this nest with curiosity and wonder,\u201d writes another. \u201cThank you, [Department of Conservation], for your commitment and passion for this extraordinary bird: fighting for the beautiful and wonderful things on this planet is never pointless or a waste of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my goodness. I just teared up a little knowing how fragile this species is,\u201d writes one fan when hearing that two of Rakiura\u2019s eggs are fertile. \u201cIt truly is so amazing and so exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
People have tuned in from countries including the United Kingdom, Finland and Germany \u2013 and all over New Zealand.<\/p>\n
<\/span>A k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d with a chick. The birds were once abundant across New Zealand but their population plummeted after the introduction of predators.<\/span> Photograph: Andrew Digby<\/p>\n Her popularity is not entirely surprising \u2013 k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d are famously entertaining and odd. They are the world\u2019s fattest parrot and the only nocturnal and flightless parrot. They have a gentlemanly face, unusual mating rituals and are extremely rare.<\/p>\n K\u0101k\u0101p\u014d were once abundant across New Zealand. But their population plummeted after the introduction of predators such as cats and stoats, and by the 1900s they were nearly extinct.<\/p>\n A recovery programme established in 1995 rebuilt the population from 51 to 236 birds, including 83 breeding-age females.<\/p>\n Now, for the first time in four years they are breeding, triggered by the mass fruiting of the berries of the native rimu tree on which k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d feed . Conservationists hope the bountiful harvest could prompt the birds to produce more eggs and lead to a record number of chicks.<\/p>\n With 78 nests, 247 eggs laid and 57 chicks hatched so far, the birds are on track to meet the milestone, says Dr Andrew Digby, the department\u2019s science adviser for k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d, speaking from Pukenui\/Anchor Island where he is monitoring the nests.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be the biggest k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d breeding season we\u2019ve had on record.\u201d<\/p>\n There are three k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d breeding populations, all based on predator-free islands near the bottom of the South Island \u2013 one near Rakiura\/Stewart Island, and two near Fiordland national park.<\/p>\n This season, the k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d team has started to step back from the more intensive methods they have used in previous years, including not feeding the adult birds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re moving from individual recovery to population recovery \u2013 and that\u2019s what this breeding season signifies: a turning point.\u201d<\/p>\n The nests are still monitored and staff often move eggs and chicks, which weigh roughly 30 grams on hatching \u2013 between mothers to ensure they have the best chance at survival.<\/p>\n \u201cThey start off very cute, very white, little fluffy things like balls of cotton wool \u2026 then they get to this kind of dinosaur phase. They become quite gangly and awkward with massively outsized feet and legs,\u201d Digby says.<\/p>\n The fast-growing chicks need a lot of food, which explains why k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d may time their breeding season during a large fruiting of rimu.<\/p>\n Digby has been instrumental in setting up the live stream \u2013 in part as an educational tool for those involved in their recovery but also to feed the public\u2019s curiosity about the birds.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople love the characters and the relationship between the birds \u2026 they are heavily invested in the fate of those chicks, what their weight curves are going to be,\u201d he says, with some amusement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fascinating, that\u2019s the sort of chat we do among our team and then suddenly we\u2019ve got all the members of the public as engaged as we are \u2013 that\u2019s pretty exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On an island in New Zealand\u2019s remote southern fjords, one of the world\u2019s strangest and rarest parrots \u2013 the k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d \u2013 is caring for her tiny chick as fans from across the globe watch on. Through the black and white lens of a hidden camera, a fluffy orb with a kazoo-like squeak jostles for food<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[23704,17003,7378,11396,23398,132,5169,11397,1187,4742,1971],"class_list":{"0":"post-46411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-captivates","9":"tag-chicks","10":"tag-distraction","11":"tag-fattest","12":"tag-kakapo","13":"tag-live","14":"tag-lovely","15":"tag-parrot","16":"tag-stream","17":"tag-worlds","18":"tag-zealand"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}