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Kakapo recovery technology

32 points by sohkamyung 7y ago

gus_massa 7y ago
Perhaps the title should be the subtitle: "We develop and use new technology to manage kākāpō." Or the subsubtitle: "Smart devices save time in the field and allow us to do more for kākāpō than ever before." In case you are wondering how a kākāpō looks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo
tomhoward 7y ago
For context: The kakapo, also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea, endemic to New Zealand. ... The kakapo is critically endangered; the total known adult population is 213 living individuals, all of which are named and tagged, confined to four small islands off the coast of New Zealand that have been cleared of predators. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo
Nursie 7y ago
Doesn't mention the special kakapo mating-hat then? For those not informed about this, there was an episode of the series "Last Chance to See" featuring the Kakapo. During the episode one of the few remaining males mounted and tried to mate with the head of one of the presenters. An 'insider' told me a while later that the individual kakapo did this a lot, to the extent that in an effort to capture genetic material and possibly perform artificial insemination, they created a special hat with a lot of little plastic pouches that an unfortunate volunteer could wear ...
- rgoulter 7y ago
  Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY but I think more of the episode is also available too: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kakapo https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kakapo
- simonw 7y ago
  That hat never worked apparently, and is now in a museum. https://twitter.com/jpdanner/status/1045843778722967552?s=21 https://twitter.com/jpdanner/status/1045843778722967552?s=21
  - Nursie 7y ago
    Ha! Thanks, I heard about it from someone that worked there, never saw a picture though!
simonw 7y ago
I love kākāpō so much. They had a record breaking breeding season last year and it was an absolute joy to watch it play out in real-time on Twitter. Follow https://twitter.com/takapodigs https://twitter.com/takapodigs there - he works directly in their conservation and tweets a lot of photos.
richdougherty 7y ago
The Kākāpō Files podcast ran during the breeding season this year and gives lots of details about the Kākāpō breeding and conservation efforts. https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/kakapo-files https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/kakapo-files
lwhalen 7y ago
Ah yes, the Party Parrot!

32 points by sohkamyung 7y ago

Perhaps the title should be the subtitle: "We develop and use new technology to manage kākāpō." Or the subsubtitle: "Smart devices save time in the field and allow us to do more for kākāpō than ever before." In case you are wondering how a kākāpō looks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo

tomhoward 7y ago

For context: The kakapo, also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea, endemic to New Zealand. ... The kakapo is critically endangered; the total known adult population is 213 living individuals, all of which are named and tagged, confined to four small islands off the coast of New Zealand that have been cleared of predators. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo

Nursie 7y ago

Doesn't mention the special kakapo mating-hat then? For those not informed about this, there was an episode of the series "Last Chance to See" featuring the Kakapo. During the episode one of the few remaining males mounted and tried to mate with the head of one of the presenters. An 'insider' told me a while later that the individual kakapo did this a lot, to the extent that in an effort to capture genetic material and possibly perform artificial insemination, they created a special hat with a lot of little plastic pouches that an unfortunate volunteer could wear ...

rgoulter 7y ago
Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY but I think more of the episode is also available too: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kakapo https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kakapo
simonw 7y ago
That hat never worked apparently, and is now in a museum. https://twitter.com/jpdanner/status/1045843778722967552?s=21 https://twitter.com/jpdanner/status/1045843778722967552?s=21
- Nursie 7y ago
  Ha! Thanks, I heard about it from someone that worked there, never saw a picture though!

simonw 7y ago

I love kākāpō so much. They had a record breaking breeding season last year and it was an absolute joy to watch it play out in real-time on Twitter. Follow https://twitter.com/takapodigs https://twitter.com/takapodigs there - he works directly in their conservation and tweets a lot of photos.

richdougherty 7y ago

The Kākāpō Files podcast ran during the breeding season this year and gives lots of details about the Kākāpō breeding and conservation efforts. https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/kakapo-files https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/kakapo-files

lwhalen 7y ago

Ah yes, the Party Parrot!