Insemination of k¯ak¯apo¯ a success
For the first time in a decade, ka¯ ka¯ po¯ chicks have been hatched through artificial insemination.
During this breeding season three female ka¯ka¯po¯ were successfully inseminated, resulting in two chicks being hatched.
Department of Conservation ka¯ka¯po¯ operations manager Deidre Vercoe said it was a crucial milestone for the long-term recovery of the species.
Ka¯ ka¯ po¯ had a very low breeding success rate, and many male ka¯ka¯po¯ never got to breed or produced few offspring, which worsened the limited genetic diversity of the species, Vercoe said.
‘‘Artificial insemination was an opportunity to fix both of these problems.’’ Because ka¯ ka¯ po¯ struggled to breed and a female ka¯ka¯po¯ could get attached to one partner, they would carry the same genes on to 20 to 30 offspring, Vercoe said.
That female ka¯ka¯po¯ could be nominated for artificial insemination to carry other genes from another male and extend genetic diversity, she said.
One of the chicks that successfully hatched was the offspring of a ka¯ka¯po¯ called Sinbad, which carries a rare Fiordland gene.
Unfortunately the chick had
the fungal disease aspergillosis, which was threatening the ka¯ ka¯ po¯ population on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island. At the last report, the chick was doing all right and would hopefully survive and carry the rare Fiordland genes for future generations, Vercoe said.
The first attempt at artificial insemination of the birds was in 2008 and 2009. At the time it was the first successful artificial insemination of a wild bird species in the world.
Attempts in 2011, 2014 and in 2016 proved unsuccessful.
The latest successful results could be credited to a refinement of technology, Vercoe said.
Having a team from Germany who were experts in artificial insemination helped improve the process although they found it challenging working with the bird, she said. ‘‘It is hard work to do this, to inseminate a wild bird population.’’
Despite the success of the hatching, more work was needed, she said.
There were 12 females in the insemination programme but only three were successful and only two hatched chicks, she said.
Due to ka¯ ka¯ po¯ breeding only every two to three years, it could be another 10 years before the insemination rate improved.
The Ka¯ka¯po¯ Recovery Group involved in the project was funded by Department of Conservation, Meridian Energy and supported by Nga¯ i Tahu.
Ka¯ ka¯ po¯ Recovery Group Nga¯ i Tahu representative Ta¯ ne Davis said the successful hatching was an example of Western science working alongside traditional matauranga values for the enhancement of the species.
The population of adult ka¯ ka¯ po¯ in New Zealand is 142.