About this episode
The episode discusses the successful hatching of the first kākāpō chick in four years and updates on the breeding season.
The first chick of the 2026 kākāpō breeding season has successfully hatched on Pukenui/Anchor Island. DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme reports that Tiwhiri-A1-2026 hatched in foster mother Yasmine’s nest on 14 February 2026 and is the first kākāpō chick in four years. Huhū-A1-2026 is due to hatch on Whenua Hou imminently. Sixty-two kākāpō nests have been found so far and the egg tally is nearly 200, of which 78 are known to be fertile. More eggs are expected. Alison Ballance visits Whenua Hou, meets some of the kākāpō rangers and reports on the technology that enables the Kākāpō Team to conduct 24-hour surveillance on each bird. Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz. In this episode: 00:00 – Introduction 00:50 - First chick hatches 04:28 – Nest and egg updates 06:26 – Kākāpō technology 07:26 – Nest tech 11:22 - The train station 13:32 - Nest controller 16:09 - Morning updates 18:28 - Closing credits… Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
People in this episode
Host: Alison Ballance
Topics covered
- kākāpō breeding
- wildlife conservation
- nesting technology
- species recovery
- New Zealand wildlife
Keywords
- kākāpō
- breeding season
- hatching
- nest updates
- wildlife technology
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: DOC
Books & works: Kākāpō Recovery Programme
Places: Pukenui/Anchor Island, Whenua Hou
More episodes of Kākāpō Files II
- Kākāpō Adoption Birds · May 18, 2026 · 39 min
- Kākāpō Chicks Growing Up · May 4, 2026 · 34 min
- Kākāpō Island Diary · April 20, 2026 · 36 min
- Biggest Kākāpō Breeding Season · April 2, 2026 · 33 min
- Kākāpō Birth Notices · March 23, 2026 · 30 min
- Lots of Kākāpō Babies · March 9, 2026 · 31 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Kākāpō Files II podcast page.