Scientists have discovered female kakapo that mate twice in a season have a higher chance of producing fertile eggs. That was thought to be because of the "very poor quality" of male kakapo sperm, Mr Jansen said.
"The majority of kakapo sperm is rubbish. Even productive birds have poor sperm because of past inbreeding," he said.
"They’re so inbred that if they were humans, they’d probably have six fingers and be playing a guitar."
Sunday, April 03, 2005
KAKAPO PARROTS - Under-sexed Kakapos have "rubbish" sperm
The goal in 2006 will be to ensure each Kakapo breeds twice within the season. Paul Jansen explains why to The New Zealand Herald.
