Going extra mile for ka¯ka¯po¯
It’s not quite the mile high club in the traditional sense, but there’s no doubt drones are playing a significant part in boosting the breeding success of ka¯ka¯po¯. Or, rather, the cargo is.
For more than 10 years, artificial insemination has been used with varying degrees of success to increase the chances of the flightless birds laying fertile eggs on Codfish Island.
This season, Department of Conservation rangers are using drones to carry ka¯ka¯po¯ semen collected from males across Codfish Island to speed up the insemination process.
In the past, rangers had to tramp across the island to get to the breeding birds.
DOC science adviser for ka¯ka¯po¯ and takahe¯ Dr Andrew Digby said the drones could get to the birds in less than 10 minutes.
The idea came from DOC ka¯ka¯po¯ and takahe¯ team manager Deidre Vercoe and was refined by the team, he said.
Civil Aviation Authority rules require that the pilot for a drone must be able to see it at all times so two rangers control the drone, one at both the landing and takeoff points, Digby said.
With a record number of chicks expected this year, rangers have had great success using artificial insemination (AI) to increase the ka¯ka¯po¯ population.
The most successful breeding season when AI was used was in 2009 and the technique has been used since in 2014 and 2016, Digby said. The fertility rate of the birds is below 50 per cent.