What kind of creature is a kakapo?
"the presence of kakapo. As a nocturnal species, the kakapo has adapted its senses to living in darkness. Its optic tectum, nucleus rotundus, and entopallium are smaller in relation to its overall brain size than those of diurnal parrots. Its retina shares some qualities with that of other nocturnal birds but also has some qualities typical of diurnal birds, lending to best function around twilight. These modifications allow the kakapo to have enhanced light sensitivity but with poor visual acuity. The skeleton of the kakapo differs from other parrots in several features associated with flightlessness. Firstly, it has the smallest"
"meat as a food source and for its feathers, which were used to make highly valued pieces of clothing. Kakapo were also occasionally kept as pets. The kakapo is critically endangered; as of August 2018, the total known adult population was living individuals, all of which are named. Because of the introduction of predators such as cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats during European colonisation, the kakapo was almost wiped out. Conservation efforts began in the 1890s, but they were not very successful until the implementation of the Kakapo Recovery Programme in 1995. Most kakapo are kept on two predator-free islands,"
"trees or on the ground during the day and moves around its territories at night. Though the kakapo cannot fly, it is an excellent climber, ascending to the crowns of the tallest trees. It can also ""parachute"" – descending by leaping and spreading its wings. In this way it may travel a few metres at an angle of less than 45 degrees. With only 3.3% of its mass made up of pectoral muscle, it is no surprise that the kakapo cannot use its wings to lift its heavy body off the ground. Because of its flightlessness, it has very low"
"from her nest to a food source up to away and the male may walk from its home range to a mating arena up to away during the mating season (October–January). Young birds indulge in play fighting, and one bird will often lock the neck of another under its chin. The kakapo is curious by nature and has been known to interact with humans. Conservation staff and volunteers have engaged extensively with some kakapo, which have distinct personalities. While they are curious toward humans, kakapo are not social birds. The kakapo was a very successful species in pre-human New Zealand,"
"kakapo has a very small gizzard compared to other birds of their size. It is entirely herbivorous, eating native plants, seeds, fruits, pollen and even the sapwood of trees. A study in 1984 identified 25 plant species as kakapo food. It is particularly fond of the fruit of the rimu tree, and will feed on it exclusively during seasons when it is abundant. The kakapo strips out the nutritious parts of the plant out with its beak, leaving a ball of indigestible fibre. These little clumps of plant fibres are a distinctive sign of the presence of the bird. The"
"have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds. Its anatomy typifies the tendency of bird evolution on oceanic islands, with few predators and abundant food: a generally robust physique at the expense of flight abilities, resulting in reduced wing muscles and a diminished keel on the sternum. Like many other New Zealand bird species, the kakapo was historically important to Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, appearing in many of their traditional legends and folklore; however it was also heavily hunted and used as a resource by Māori, both for its"
"metabolic demands in comparison to flighted birds. It is able to survive easily on very little or on very low quality food sources. Unlike most other bird species, the kakapo is entirely herbivorous, feeding on fruits, seeds, leaves, stems, and rhizomes. When foraging, kakapo tend to leave crescent-shaped wads of fiber in the vegetation behind them, called ""browse signs"". Having lost the ability to fly, it has developed strong legs. Locomotion is often by way of a rapid ""jog-like"" gait by which it can move several kilometres. A female has been observed making two return trips each night during nesting"
"of the kakapo until George Gray of the British Museum described it from a skin in 1845. As the Māori had done, early European explorers and their dogs ate kakapo. In the late 19th century, the kakapo became well known as a scientific curiosity, and thousands were captured or killed for zoos, museums and collectors. Most captured specimens died within months. From at least the 1870s, collectors knew the kakapo population was declining; their prime concern was to collect as many as possible before the bird became extinct. In the 1880s, large numbers of mustelids (stoats, ferrets and weasels) were"
"the kea is also closely monitored. The living kakapo are all in a breeding and conservation program. Each one has been individually named. New Zealand parrot The New Zealand parrot superfamily, Strigopoidea, consists of three genera of parrots – ""Nestor"", ""Strigops"", and the fossil ""Nelepsittacus"". The genus ""Nestor"" consists of the kea, kaka, Norfolk Island kaka and Chatham Island kaka, while the genus ""Strigops"" contains the iconic ""kakapo"". All extant species are endemic to New Zealand. The species of the genus ""Nelepsittacus"" were endemics of the main islands, while the two extinct species of the genus ""Nestor"" were found at"
"areas of Fiordland. Kakapo seem to have preferred broadleaf or mountain beech and Hall's tōtara forest with mild winters and high rainfall, but the species was not exclusively forest-dwelling. All kakapo that were transferred to predator-free islands in the last decades have adapted well to any changes in environment and food plants. It seems that the kakapo – like many of New Zealand's bird species – has evolved to occupy an ecological niche normally filled by various species of mammal (the only non-marine mammals native to New Zealand are ). The kakapo is primarily nocturnal; it roosts under cover in"
"leaping from trees. Unlike many other land birds, the kakapo can accumulate large amounts of body fat. The upper parts of the kakapo have yellowish moss-green feathers barred or mottled with black or dark brownish grey, blending well with native vegetation. Individuals may have strongly varying degrees of mottling and colour tone and intensity – museum specimens show that some birds had completely yellow colouring. The breast and flank are yellowish-green streaked with yellow. The belly, undertail, neck, and face are predominantly yellowish streaked with pale green and weakly mottled with brownish-grey. Because the feathers do not need the strength"
"Kākāpō 125 project aimed to sequence the genome of all living kakapo, as well as some museum specimens – the first time an entire species has had its genome sequenced. The project is a collaboration between Duke University and the New Zealand Genomics lab in Dunedin. Before the arrival of humans, the kakapo was distributed throughout both main islands of New Zealand. Although it may have inhabited Stewart Island before human arrival, it has so far not been found in the extensive fossil collections from there. Kakapo lived in a variety of habitats, including tussocklands, scrublands and coastal areas. It"
"New Zealand parrot The New Zealand parrot superfamily, Strigopoidea, consists of three genera of parrots – ""Nestor"", ""Strigops"", and the fossil ""Nelepsittacus"". The genus ""Nestor"" consists of the kea, kaka, Norfolk Island kaka and Chatham Island kaka, while the genus ""Strigops"" contains the iconic ""kakapo"". All extant species are endemic to New Zealand. The species of the genus ""Nelepsittacus"" were endemics of the main islands, while the two extinct species of the genus ""Nestor"" were found at the nearby oceanic islands such as Chatham Island of New Zealand, and Norfolk Island and adjacent Phillip Island. The Norfolk kaka and the"
"at approximately 10 to 12 weeks of age. As they gain greater independence, their mothers may feed the chicks sporadically for up to 6 months. Because the kakapo is long-lived, with an average life expectancy of 60 (plus or minus 20) years, it tends to have an adolescence before it starts breeding. Males start booming at about 5 years of age. It was thought that females reached sexual maturity at 9 years of age, but four five-year-old females have now been recorded reproducing. The kakapo does not breed every year and has one of the lowest rates of reproduction among"
"Kangaroo The kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning ""large foot""). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus ""Macropus"": the red kangaroo, antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia. The Australian government estimates that 34.3 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2011, up from 25.1 million one year earlier. As with the terms ""wallaroo"" and ""wallaby"", ""kangaroo"" refers to a paraphyletic grouping of species. All three refer to members of the same"
"the phylogeographical dynamics of this family. The kakapo is a flightless, nocturnal species, well camouflaged to avoid the large diurnal birds of prey on the island, while the local owls are too small to prey on the kakapo at night. The kakapo is the only flightless bird in the world to use a lek-breeding system. Usually, they breed only every 3–5 years when certain podocarp trees like rimu (""Dacrydium cupressinum"") mast abundantly. The kea is well adapted to life at high altitudes, and they are regularly observed in the snow at ski resorts. As trees are absent in the alpine"
"which Stephen Fry and Carwardine revisit the animals to see how they are getting on almost 20 years later, and in January 2009, they spent time filming the kakapo on Codfish Island. Footage of a kakapo named Sirocco attempting to mate with Carwardine's head was viewed by millions worldwide, leading to Sirocco becoming ""spokes-bird"" for New Zealand wildlife conservation in 2010. The kakapo was featured in the episode ""Strange Islands"" of the documentary series ""South Pacific"", originally aired on 13 June 2009, in the episode ""Worlds Apart"" of the series ""The Living Planet"", and in episode 3 of the BBC's"
"approximately every five years, with the ripening of the rimu fruit. In mating years, males making ""booming"" calls for 6–8 hours every night for more than four months. Each court consists of one or more saucer-shaped depressions or ""bowls"" dug in the ground by the male, up to deep and long enough to fit the half-metre length of the bird. The kakapo is one of only a handful of birds in the world which actually constructs its leks. Bowls are often created next to rock faces, banks, or tree trunks to help reflect sound: the bowls themselves function as amplifiers"
"kappa has been known as ""kawako"" in Izumo (Shimane Prefecture) where Lafcadio Hearn was based, and ""gatarō"" was the familiar name of it to folklorist Kunio Yanagita from Hyogo Prefecture. The ""kappa"" is said to be roughly humanoid in form and about the size of a child, inhabiting the ponds and rivers of Japan. It is typically greenish in color (or yellow-blue), and either scaly or slimy skinned, with webbed hands and feet, with a turtle-like carapace on its back. One peculiar trait is that it has a cavity on its head called a ""sara"" (""dish"", ""bowl"", or ""plate (dishware)"")"
"unusual biology such as the kakapo which is the world's only flightless, nocturnal, lek breeding parrot, but also many species that are similar to neighboring land areas. Some of the more well known and distinctive bird species in New Zealand are the kiwi, kea, takahe, kakapo, mohua, tui and the bellbird. The tuatara is a notable reptile endemic to New Zealand. The Pacific Islands are ruled by a tropical rainforest and tropical savanna climate. In the tropical and subtropical Pacific, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather conditions. In the tropical western Pacific, the monsoon and the related wet"
"west of Lake Austin in Western Australia. Its specific epithet is Latin ""occidentalis"" ""western"". The species was originally placed within its own genus (""Geopsittacus"") by Gould, though consensus soon swung in favour of placing it in ""Pezoporus""; James Murie dissected a specimen, observing that it was very similar in anatomy and plumage to the ground parrot. Gould had posited a relationship to the kakapo based on similarity of the plumage, however Murie concluded they were markedly different anatomically. Despite its close relationship with the ground parrot, its placement in the genus ""Pezoporus"" was uncertain, with some authorities leaving it in"
"long and the distal elements are disproportionately short. The pectoral musculature of the kakapo is also modified by flightlessness. The pectoralis and supracoracoideus muscles are greatly reduced. The propatagialis tendo longus has no distinct muscle belly. The sternocoracoideus is tendinous. There is an extensive cucularis capitis clavicularis muscle that is associated with the large crop. Because kakapo passed through a genetic bottleneck, in which the world population was reduced to 49 birds, they are extremely inbred and have low genetic diversity. This manifests in lower disease resistance and fertility problems: 40% of kakapo eggs are infertile. Beginning in 2015, the"
"kakapo. This extends to the mating ritual of 'booming': Sirocco booms in the presence of humans, rather than female kakapo. Sirocco is therefore seen as unlikely to be successful when it comes to breeding. However, his affinity to human beings means he has become an effective advocate for the kakapo species. As Codfish Island, a protected sanctuary, is closed to the public, this has involved Sirocco travelling away from his home. Since 2006 he has regularly appeared on Ulva Island as part of a 'kakapo encounter'; then in September 2009 he travelled to Auckland Zoo where he was visited by"
"kakapo is believed to employ bacteria in the fore-gut to ferment and help digest plant matter. Kakapo diet changes according to the season. The plants eaten most frequently during the year include some species of ""Lycopodium ramulosum"", ""Lycopodium fastigium"", ""Schizaea fistulosa"", ""Blechnum minus"", ""Blechnum procerum"", ""Cyathodes juniperina"", ""Dracophyllum longifolium"", ""Olearia colensoi"" and ""Thelymitra venosa"". Individual plants of the same species are often treated differently. Kakapo leave conspicuous evidence of their feeding activities, over feeding areas that range between and per individual. Kakapo feeding grounds almost always host manuka and yellow silver pine (""Lepidothamnus intermedius"") scrubs. Fossil records indicate that in"
"non-dispersive sex when food is plentiful. A female kakapo will likely be able to produce eggs even when there are few resources, while a male kakapo will be more capable of perpetuating the species when there are plenty, by mating with several females. This supports the Trivers–Willard hypothesis. The relationship between clutch sex ratio and maternal diet has conservation implications, because a captive population maintained on a high quality diet will produce fewer females and therefore fewer individuals valuable to the recovery of the species. The beak of the kakapo is adapted for grinding food finely. For this reason, the"
"harvesting program managed by Rakiura Māori. Meanwhile, a small population of the kakapo, a flightless parrot which is very close to extinction, was found on Stewart Island in 1977 and the birds subsequently moved to smaller islands (Codfish Island) for protection from feral cats. The South Island saddleback is similarly preserved. As the island has always been sparsely populated and there has never been very much logging, much of the original wildlife is intact, including species that have been devastated on the larger islands to the north since their habitation by humans. However, although habitats and wildlife were not threatened"
"is forced to leave them every night in search of food. Predators are known to eat the eggs and the embryos inside can also die of cold in the mother's absence. Kakapo eggs usually hatch within 30 days, bearing fluffy grey chicks that are quite helpless. After the eggs hatch, the female feeds the chicks for three months, and the chicks remain with the female for some months after fledging. The young chicks are just as vulnerable to predators as the eggs, and young have been killed by many of the same predators that attack adults. Chicks leave the nest"
"failure. Only the local postmaster attended the funeral. A male kakapo, captured in Fiordland in 1975, and at that point the only remaining member of the species originating from the South Island, was named ""Richard Henry"" in his memory. This bird was found dead on 24 December 2010. Richard Henry wrote many short articles on natural history for newspapers such as the ""Otago Witness"" and the ""Kaipara and Waitemata Echo"", and for scientific journals such as the ""Transactions of the New Zealand Institute"", as well as letters and reports to his employers when working for the Department of Lands and"
"affectionate pet by the Māori. This was corroborated by European settlers in New Zealand in the 19th century, among them George Edward Grey, who once wrote in a letter to an associate that his pet kakapo's behaviour towards him and his friends was ""more like that of a dog than a bird"". The conservation of the kakapo has made the species well known. Many books and documentaries detailing the plight of the kakapo have been produced in recent years, one of the earliest being ""Two in the Bush"", made by Gerald Durrell for the BBC in 1962. A feature-length documentary,"
"Katipo The katipo (""Latrodectus katipo"") is an endangered species of spider native to New Zealand. It is one of many species in the genus ""Latrodectus"", such as the Australian redback (""L. hasseltii""), and the North American black widows. The species is venomous to humans, capable of delivering a comparatively dangerous bite. The name katipo (plural: katipo) is from the Māori ""katipō,"" meaning ""night-stinger"". It is a small to medium-sized spider, with the female having a round black or brown pea-sized body. Red katipo females, found in the South Island and the lower half of the North Island, are always black,"
"released in New Zealand to reduce rabbit numbers, but they also preyed heavily on many native species including the kakapo. Other browsing animals, such as introduced deer, competed with the kakapo for food, and caused the extinction of some of its preferred plant species. The kakapo was reportedly still present near the head of the Whanganui River as late as 1894, with one of the last records of a kakapo in the North Island being a single bird caught in the Kaimanawa Ranges by Te Kepa Puawheawhe in 1895. In 1891, the New Zealand government set aside Resolution Island in"
"supplementary feeding of females. Kakapo breed only once every two to five years, when certain plant species, primarily ""Dacrydium cupressinum"" (rimu), produce protein-rich fruit and seeds. During breeding years when rimu masts supplementary food is provided to kakapo to increase the likelihood of individuals successfully breeding. In 1989, six preferred foods (apples, sweet potatoes, almonds, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and walnuts) were supplied ""ad libitum"" each night to 12 feeding stations. Males and females ate the supplied foods, and females nested on Little Barrier Island in the summers of 1989–91 for the first time since 1982, although nesting success was"
"Okapi The okapi (; ""Okapia johnstoni""), also known as the forest giraffe, congolese giraffe or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal native to the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Although the okapi bears striped markings reminiscent of zebras, it is most closely related to the giraffe. The okapi and the giraffe are the only living members of the family Giraffidae. The okapi stands about tall at the shoulder and has an average body length around . Its weight ranges from . It has a long neck, and large, flexible ears. Its coat is a"