Kakapos Flying Far and Wide

Here's a nice tongue-in-cheek article from the Sunday Star Times about the Kakapo superstar Sirocco.

Sirocco the kakapo shot to fame in 2009 when he was filmed by comedian Stephen Fry engaging in mating behaviour on the head of BBC presenter and environmentalist Mark Cawardine.

The clip that went viral on You Tube is just one of the many ways Sirocco is helping New Zealand conservation.

He has Twitter address ((@Spokesbird), a Facebook page (Sirocco Kakapo), a website, and an official role as spokesbird for conservation. He is the new face of the Department of Conservation which until now, it admits, appealed predominantly to the grey-haired among us, said spokesman Rory Newsam.

And in other terrific news from Stuff, seven young kakapo chicks have been returned to Codfish Island after being hand-reared on the New Zealand mainland. The hatchings this year bring the total number of Kakapo up to 131.

Kakapo Recovery Programme leader Deidre Vercoe Scott said the seven chicks had all reached a healthy weight, between 1.3kg and 1.8kg.

"They've all done fantastic. Some initially had minor illnesses which is very normal, but they got over those very quickly."

Pictures: Gorilla Mother Mourns Dead Baby

In a recent National Geographic article, the pictures of a Mountain Gorilla mother with her dead baby are quite heartbreaking.

Last month in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Virunga National Park, ranger Innocent Mburanumwe captured pictures of the first-time mother, Ruzuzi, appearing to grieve over her less-than-two-week-old baby. Ruzuzi kept the body with her for more than a week, according to Mburanumwe.

Gorillas have long been known to exhibit care for the dead. Mburanumwe, for instance, has seen behavior similar to that of Ruzuzi's on at least three occasions.

The Comments of the article also make quite interesting reading as they debate National Geographic's choice to put "Mourn" in double-quotes. What are your thoughts on it?

Northern White Rhino Nesari Had Died

Sad Tweet from Mark Carwardine today...

Nesari - northern white rhino met while filming Last Chance to See special in Czech Rep - just died. Now 7 northern whites left.