First Kakapo Chick of the season

Tweet from @Spokesbird.

Skraaarrk! First confirmed kaka chick of the season at Orokonui Sanctuary. Cute as!

Hope for the Northern White Rhinos as Suni and Najin Mate; Twice!

Here's a quick update from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

On April 25th, four weeks after their interesting courtship ritual, Suni and Najin finally mated! 32 days later, on May 27th, they mated again. These recent mating activities provide a glimmer of hope for the critically endangered northern white rhino subspecies especially as they are Najin’s first mating in over a decade!

Excess Baggage: Mark Carwardine

Mark Carwardine appeared on this week's BBC Radio 4 travel show "Excess Baggage" talking about "Wildlife Travel". The show is streamable at the previous link, or can be downloaded as an MP3 file from their podcast.

Sadly, I learn that this is one of the very last episodes of Excess Baggage as it is being axed by the BBC and the last show will go out on April 28th. Fortnightly travel "segments" by Sandi and John will be incorporated into the new extended "Saturday Live" show.

Wanderlust has started a petition to save Excess Baggage. Please show your support!

Kakapo Basil May Have Fathered His Last Chick

Radio New Zealand reports that Basil may have to be cut from the breeding programme after another young chick "Rooster" died last week. Basil's genetic makeup may be partially to blame.

A three-year-old kakapo named Rooster died last week, the fifth fatality since September last year.
Of the six young kakapo to die recently, four were fathered by a bird named Basil on Anchor Island in Fiordland.

The death brings the total number of Kakapo down to 126.

Old age may have killed stud kakapo

Southland Times, with an update on Waynebo, the kakapo found dead on Codfish Island earlier this month.

Kakapo Recovery Programme manager Deirdre Vercoe said tests on his body had found no specific cause of death on January 2.

Although Waynebo had a small wound on his chest, the lack of inflammation suggested it had been inflicted after he was dead.

Found on Stewart Island in 1989 – making him one of the last discovered wild kakapo – Waynebo fathered 11 chicks during his time with the recovery programme.

Kakapo death a hit for breeding chances

Sad news from New Zealand. Kakapo numbers have dropped to 128 with the death of Waynebo. The Dominion Post has the story.

Male kakapo Waynebo was found dead by rangers on January 2 after his transmitter went into mortality mode.

Kakapo Recovery programme manager Deidre Vercoe Scott said the cause of Waynebo's death was unknown and tissue samples had been sent to Massey University.

"An autopsy has been carried out at Auckland Zoo and, at this stage, the only indication of the cause of death is that he had a wound on his chest."