Peak Breeding

More than three-quarters of female kākāpō of breeding age have mated so far, and the number of nests is growing rapidly. Kākāpō operations manager Deidre Vercoe tells Alison Ballance that 101 eggs have been laid to date, and while it is early days 38 eggs are known to be fertile. As always, infertile eggs are a major problem, although science advisor Andrew Digby explains that recent research shows that many eggs are in fact fertilised but die in the first day or two. And Deidre says that the Kākāpō Recovery Programme takes threats such as the fungal disease aspergillosis, failure of the rimu fruit to ripen and the possible arrival of highly pathogenic bird flu in New Zealand very seriously. Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected]. In this episode: 00:00 – Introduction 00:57 – Mating update 03.28 – Nesting update and 101 eggs 09:13 – Bird of the Week: Kākāpō Cam star Rakiura 10:34 – Egg infertility 12:12 – Threats including aspergillosis and bird flu 14:15 - Closing credits… Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details