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My new favourite animal, the Kākāpō[1].


The kakapo is a large, nocturnal, flightless, lek-breeding parrot --- a
real oddity. It is also critically endangered, and the focus of
considerable conservation attention. Before humans arrived it was common
throughout New Zealand's forests, but predation by introduced mammals
brought it to the brink of extinction --- a low point of about 50 birds
only in the mid 1990s. The transfer of the whole population to
predator-free islands and intensive intervention in every stage of its
life has led to a steady increase in numbers.

Kakapo have no close relatives. [2]

/thicc-kakapo.jpg[3]


Adopt a Kākāpō:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/our-work/kakapo-recovery/get-involved/adopt-a-kakapo/

In the news:
-----------

[4] Vets perform world-first brain surgery on critically endangered
    kakapo chick in NZ

    New Zealand veterinarians have performed world-first brain surgery
    to save the life of a critically endangered native parrot chick.

    Key points:
    - There are only 144 of the flightless and nocturnal kakapo left
      in existence, making the surgery important

    - An abnormal growth was discovered in the chick's skull shortly
      after it hatched

    - The veterinary surgeons had no precedent in the avian world, so
      adapted techniques used on humans and other mammals

[5] Congratulations to the Kākāpō for winning Te Manu Rongonui o Te
    Tau/Bird of the Year!

    These critically endangered "moss chickens" used to live throughout
    Aotearoa, but today they only survive on predator free islands.
    Thanks to intensive conservations efforts, the Kākāpō have come back
    from the edge of extinction. Their numbers have grown from just 50
    birds in the 1990s, to 213 individuals today.

[6] The hills above the Hutt Valley could become the first mainland home
    for the nationally critical kākāpo, with plans on the table to build
    a massive, fenced eco-sanctuary.

    The Greater Wellington Regional Council is considering a proposal
    that would fence-off 3350 hectares of native bush behind the suburb
    of Wainuiomata to create a "threatened species sanctuary".

-- 
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo
[2] http://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kakapo
[3] https://www.facebook.com/TheBirdGuide
[4] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-11/11104054
[5] https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz
[6] https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/123481909/