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.