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Source: ONE News -
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Plans to display a male kakapo at Te Rau Aroha Marae (Bluff) overnight on February 5 have been cancelled to ensure the bird's wellbeing.
Kakapo Recovery programme manager Deidre Vercoe Scott said Rooster had been weighed after his capture this week and was under the 1.8kg weight threshold set for captive display.
A good average weight for a male kakapo is between 2kg and 2.5kg and when Rooster was captured he was 1.75kg.
Vercoe Scott says the bird would be expected to lose a small amount of weight during the display and they weren't comfortable with any loss at his current weight.
"Rooster is still entirely healthy. But as a three-year-old, he's been wandering around a lot and exploring," she said.
"With only 127 kakapo it's crucial we put their wellbeing first."
Rooster is the only bird currently on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island with a disposition suitable for being on captive display in Bluff.
DOC's long term kakapo recovery goal is to have 150 females at three separate sites, one of which is self-sustaining.
More than $3.75 million has been injected into breeding programmes, predator proof sanctuaries and innovative research for the flightless parrot.
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