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The Birds Are Back episode artwork

Dec 15, 2025 26 min

The Birds Are Back

from Kākāpō Files II Hosted by RNZ

The Kākāpō Files returns for a second season, to follow everyone’s favourite parrot through what is predicted to be the biggest breeding season on record. Host Alison Ballance and Our Changing World’s Claire Concannon chat about what exactly is a kākāpō, discuss the conservation history of this endangered bird through the life story of two kākāpō, and discover just how big this breeding season might be. Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to [email protected] In this episode: 00:00 – What is a kākāpō and how rare are they? 06:32 – Kākāpō names, from Zephyr to Acheron, and a brief conservation history 14:29 – Rimu masting and the 2026 breeding season 22:25 – Kākāpō trivia 24:12 – Closing credits Learn more: Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to date. Want to start the new series prepared with all the backstory? Listen to the Voice of the Kākāpō series for a recap of the 2019 breeding season. Then listen to the episodes covering the interim 2022 breeding season, and about how a few male kākāpō have fared in the North Island, in the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. For more New Zealand science and nature find and follow the Our Changing World podcast, and subscribe to the show’s monthly newsletter. Guests: Claire Concannon, Our Changing World References: “Kākāpō: Rescued from the Brink of Extinction” by Alison Ballance (published 2018) Kākāpō Files is made in collaboration with the Department of Conservation’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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The Birds Are Back

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How long is this episode of Kākāpō Files II?

This episode is 26 minutes long.

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This episode was published on December 15, 2025.

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