Ka¯ka¯po¯ beats deadly disease
After eight months of battling a rare and deadly disease, 34-year-old ka¯ka¯po¯ Margaret Maree is finally heading home.
She was one of 12 ka¯ka¯po¯ treated by Auckland Zoo after an outbreak of aspergillosis – a mould or fungus that infects the lungs – on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island.
Nearly 50 of the critically endangered birds were brought to the mainland from Whenua Hou, near Stewart Island, to be assessed after the outbreak last year. A total of 21 birds were diagnosed with the disease. Nine died, including three at Auckland Zoo.
On January 30, Margaret Maree had her seventh CT scan at
Veterinary Specialists Auckland in Mt Wellington after being brought to the zoo in May for treatment.
Test results have given Margaret Maree the all clear and she will return to her home with another ka¯ka¯po¯ today.
Senior veterinarian for Auckland Zoo, Dr An Pas, said staff were very pleased that she could go home after a ‘‘long and challenging’’ period.
‘‘Being able to send the last two ka¯ka¯po¯ home, one of these being Margaret Maree, one of the founder birds, after so many months of intensive treatment for her, feels great.’’
Pas said Margaret Maree was ‘‘quite sick’’ when she first arrived in their care. She weighed just 1.12 kilograms, and is now weighing in at 1.71kg. She had progressed well but it had taken a long time and treatment had been extensive.
Pas said the outbreak of aspergillosis was rare in wild bird populations, had a high mortality rate, and was hard to treat.
It hadn’t been seen in ka¯ka¯po¯ for about 30 years, she said. Because of the mortality rate, Pas said zoo staff has been ‘‘really surprised’’ at the number of birds they had been able to save, working with the Department of Conservation’s ka¯kapo¯ recovery team.
According to DOC’s website, there are 211 ka¯ka¯po¯.