Wild Sounds: Kākāpō Files II

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Introducing: Voice of the Iceberg Aug 06, 2025

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The next series to join the Wild Sounds feed is Voice of the Iceberg, first published in 2017. Artist Joseph Michael and his team record the characters and sounds of icebergs in Antarctica as he prepares for a major art installation.

This series was first releas in 2017.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Voice of the Kākāpō 08 | Success Jul 30, 2025

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The 2019 kākāpō chicks are becoming independent and birds sent to be scanned for aspergillosis are getting clean bills of health.

This episode was first released on 19 March 2020.

The 2019 kākāpō breeding season successfully weathered the aspergillosis crisis, with 72 chicks reaching the milestone of 150 days. Seventy of those juveniles are still alive, although two juveniles subsequently died from late cases of aspergillosis.

Since September 2019 the kākāpō population has remained steady at 211 birds.

This is a huge increase from the 148 birds that were alive in December 2018, when kākāpō on Whenua Hou and Anchor Island began their breeding marathon.

One of the juveniles was fathered by the Fiordland male Sinbad, via successful artificial insemination. A further three Fiordland juveniles were fathered by his brother Gulliver, and their sister Kuia also produced three juveniles.

Kākāpō did not breed in 2020. The kākāpō team at the Department of Conservation has just been surveying rimu trees on the southern kākāpō islands and determined that there will be no breeding there in 2021 either.

As each juvenile from the 2019 breeding season reaches its first birthday it receives its new name, which replaces its chick code. Queenie-3-A-19 (Queenie's third egg from her first clutch in 2019) was named Alison, after Alison Ballance (Queenie was named after Alison's mum).

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Voice of the Kākāpō 07 | Dark days Jul 23, 2025

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A deadly fungal disease strikes the kākāpō population on Whenua Hou and the Kākāpō Recovery team calls on New Zealand wildlife vets to help.

This episode was first released on 17 March 2020.

In April 2019, disaster struck the kākāpō population.

There was an outbreak of the deadly fungal disease aspergillosis, which would eventually kill two adult females and seven chicks.

But against expectations, veterinary experts were able to nurse many birds back to health.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Voice of the Kākāpō 06 | Kākāpō chicks Jul 16, 2025

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The kākāpō eggs are hatching, and chicks are being hand-reared or returned to their mother's nest... but not every chick is thriving.

This episode was first released on 12 March 2020.

The 2019 kākāpō breeding season set many records. It was the earliest, the longest - and of course, the biggest breeding season ever recorded.

Two hundred and fifty two kākāpō eggs were laid over three months, starting on Christmas Day 2018.

They began hatching at the end of January 2019, when Kohitatea became the earliest kākāpō chick ever to hatch.

The last chick to hatch, on 20 April 2019 was Stella's chick Manawanui.

Many chicks were hand-reared, by a team of wildlife experts from many places, including Auckland Zoo.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Voice of the Kākāpō 05 | Kākāpō sperm takes to the air Jul 09, 2025

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The tally of infertile eggs is climbing and the kākāpō team is using artificial insemination - and a drone - to try and counter the problem.

This episode was first released on 10 March 2020.

The 2019 kākāpō breeding season was one for the record books, but it had more than its fair share of problems, including the fact that more than half of the eggs laid were infertile.

It's an ongoing issue, not helped by the birds' low genetic diversity. The Kākāpō Recovery team are using artificial insemination as part of their genetic matchmaking efforts, and have turned to a drone to speed the process of sperm delivery.

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Voice of the Kākāpō 04 | Promise Jul 02, 2025

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Most of the female kākāpō have bred and the team is carrying precious fertile eggs to the 'egg room' for incubation. Meanwhile, on Anchor Island, the rain is falling.

This episode was first released on 5 March 2020.

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Voice of the Kākāpō 03 | Nest checks Jun 25, 2025

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Kākāpō breeding is in full swing after an early start, and DOC's Deidre Vercoe and Andrew Digby are checking to see if eggs are fertile.

This episode was first released on 3 March 2020.

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Voice of the Kākāpō 02 | Whenua Hou, kākāpō island Jun 18, 2025

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The kākāpō team know all the signs are good for a big kākāpō breeding season - the question is exactly how big and when will it start?

This episode was first released on 27 February 2020.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Voice of the Kākāpō 01 | Kākāpō - night parrot Jun 11, 2025

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The kākāpō is a giant flightless parrot whose fortunes are tied to the rimu tree and to a dedicated team of rangers from the Department of Conservation.

This episode was first released on 25 February 2020.

The kākāpō, or night parrot, is one of the world's most unusual birds.

It's a giant flightless parrot whose fortunes are tied to the rimu tree and to a dedicated team of kākāpō rangers from the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Join Alison Ballance on an audio adventure through the biggest kākāpō breeding season on record. In part 1 of this remarkable story we meet the rare bird and discover the night sounds of Whenua Hou/Codfish Island with Deidre Vercoe, Andrew Digby and Tane Davis.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Introducing: Voice of the Kākāpō Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

Claire Concannon introduces you to the next series from Wild Sounds. Hosted by Alison Ballance, hear the adventure through the bumpy bumper 2019 breeding season of NZ's rare flightless parrot.

This series was first released in 2020.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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