In New Zealand, one of the cutest demographic explosions of the year has occurred.
Kakapo — huge green parrots that cannot fly, are nocturnal, and waddle — suddenly decided to seriously get down to reproduction.
In the 2026 season, 90 chicks survived 90 chicks.
And on 1 September they were officially added to the total population, and now there are 325 kakapo in the world 325 kakapo.
For a species that until recently was teetering on the brink of extinction, this is a huge victory.
Three hundred kakapo — for the first time in about 75 years
The last time the number of these birds presumably exceeded 300 individuals was about 75 years ago.
And when the modern kakapo recovery program started in 1995, there were only 51 left 51.
That is, over three decades, humanity has managed to increase the population more than sixfold.
Moreover, the current 90 chicks are an absolute record.
In the early years of the program, it would have taken about that many years to produce such a number of young birds. 16 years.
Now they managed it in a single season.
What exactly is a kakapo?
If you imagine that an ordinary parrot was slightly redesigned, it would turn out roughly like this:
— remove the ability to fly;
— increase the weight to 4 kilograms;
— make it nocturnal;
— add a round "owl-like" face;
— make it waddle;
— and endow it with an amazingly charming facial expression.
The result is a kakapo.
It is the heaviest parrots in the world and the only flightless nocturnal parrots.
But they are in no hurry to have children
Kakapo do not breed every year.
Usually a suitable season comes only once in 2–4 years, when New Zealand rimu trees produce a particularly abundant crop of fruit.
The previous season was in 2022.
And now, after a four-year pause, conditions finally aligned so favorably that the kakapo staged a true family marathon.
Scientists already suspect that the next big season may not have to be waited for so long — it could come around 2028.
From 51 birds — to 325
Behind the kakapo's funny appearance lies a rather dramatic story.
Once these birds were widespread across New Zealand. But the arrival of predators introduced by humans — above all rats, cats, and stoats — nearly wiped out the species.
Today kakapo live mainly on specially protected predator-free islands, and every adult parrot is tracked by specialists using a small radio transmitter.
So the current 325 birds are not just a nice number.
It is the result of decades of work by scientists, volunteers, and conservationists.
And yet it is impossible to shake the feeling that the kakapo themselves decided to lend a hand.
For four years they were silent.
Then they looked at each other and, apparently, resolved:
"All right. Time to save the species."
And immediately produced 90 chicks.
