Kaka breeding success at Wellington Zoo

Kaka breeding success at Wellington Zoo

Wellington Zoo has had a bumper North Island kaka breeding season with five chicks hatching this year, Forests Team Leader Suzette Nicholson announced today.

‘The best part about our breeding success with North Island kaka this year is that, when they are a little bigger, all of our chicks will be released into the wild. The first clutch, born in September, will go to Maungatautari Mainland Island Sanctuary in the Waikato, and the other chicks, born in early December, will be released into Karori Wildlife Sanctuary here in Wellington.’

‘We can’t determine the gender of the youngest birds yet, so we have to pluck a couple of feathers from the backs of their necks and send them off for DNA testing. Then once they’ve been sexed, the birds will be banded according to their gender,’ said Suzette.

Wellington Zoo’s kaka chicks are due for release around April 2007. North Island kaka are classified by the Department of Conservation as nationally endangered. North Island kaka can be found in a few lowland forests on mainland New Zealand, and there are also populations on larger offshore islands.

ENDS

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