Released by Craig Potton Publishing this week, the book not only describes the kakapo’s natural history in great detail, it also conveys the passion, commitment and good old Kiwi ingenuity of the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Kakapo Recovery Programme. This is a wonderfully inspirational story of dedication and devotion to a cause that once seemed lost.
And the exciting this is that 2011 is looking like it’ll be a good year for the kakapo. If the rimu trees keep fruiting they way they are, and if that fruit ripens, then the birds could be breeding naturally this summer. It would be the first time in over a century that’s been able to happen in Fiordland, where some of the birds are currently living. We’ll know more in February…
Author Alison Ballance was introduced to her first kakapo in the early 1990s and since then has been an ardent supporter of the species as well as the people and the science involved in the recovery programme.
‘When the programme began, many people thought the bird was probably already extinct’ says Alison, ‘but thanks to a unique blend of science and intensive care the population has now risen to 122, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the programme team.’
‘It’s the ultimate in eleventh-hour micro-conservation. The kakapo is so endangered that the only real hope for the last few survivors is round-the-clock individual care and attention’ says Mark Carwardine, the BBC TV presenter whose trip to New Zealand with Stephen Fry famously resulted in a scene featuring an incorrigible and amorous 11-year-old kakapo named Sirocco. The scene has gone on to be a massive YouTube hit ‘Shagged by a rare parrot’, which has received over 2.2million views.
The Kakapo Recovery Programme (a partnership between the Department of Conservation, Forest and Bird and Rio Tinto Alcan) has drawn together experts in nutrition and artificial insemination to work alongside volunteers who help with the labour-intensive nest monitoring and is seen a world-leading conservation success story. ‘This book is not only intended as a tribute to an extraordinary bird, but also to the equally extraordinary New Zealand conservation programme and the behind-the-scenes team who’ve laboured to help rescue them from the brink of extinction’ says Alison.
About the author:
She worked as a documentary film-maker and writer from 1990 to 2008, and currently works for Radio New Zealand National in Wellington as co-producer and co-presenter of the weekly one-hour science and environment programme ‘Our Changing World’.
She has produced more than 16 television documentaries, written 27 books, and recorded and presented about 140 radio stories.
Alison has been involved with the kakapo conservation programme since 1994. She produced a TV documentary on the subject, ‘To Save the Kakapo’, in 1998, and has written two books that cover aspects of the kakapo story: Hoki: The story of a kakapo (1997), and Don Merton: The man who saved the black robin (2007).
In 2009 Alison had the privilege of naming a kakapo chick Queenie, in honour of her mother Queenie Ballance who has been a tireless conservation volunteer for many years.
Here is an excerpt from her Preface:
The Kakapo Recovery Programme is New Zealand’s flagship threatened species conservation programme, and it has used a unique blend of science and management, supported by commercial sponsorship. Scientists have been an integral part of the management team, even leading it at times, but the programme has also called on a wide range of external specialists to advise and provide practical help on issues such as nutrition and artificial insemination. This intimate involvement of practical science is a hallmark of the kakapo conservation programme, and has significantly contributed to its success. However, it is ultimately the practitioners of the management and science who have been the key to the rescue of a species. So this book is a tribute not only to an extraordinary bird, but to the equally extraordinary women and men who have laboured to help the kakapo.
Theirs has been a labour of love as well as duty, inspired by a ‘big green budgie’, which manages to be both shy and charismatic, rewarding and frustrating, famous yet enigmatic.
If this book is intended as a guide to understanding kakapo, then let us begin with a very brief guide to the book itself. Part one—Kakapo, the bird—is about the biology, natural history and evolutionary history of the kakapo.
Part two—A brief kakapo history—charts the fall and rise of the species
over the last hundred years, and especially during the last 50 years.
Part three—To save the kakapo—focuses on the science and management techniques that have revolutionised work with the species and caused the spectacular turn-around in its fortunes over the last 15 years, through a unique look into the memorable breeding season of 2009.
Footnote:
Thanks and congratulations Alison for this fine book, and also to your publishers Craig Potton Publishing who have done so much wonderful publishing over the years on and about the New Zealand environment. Green publishers indeed. Good corporate citizens. I salute you.
Several images from the book follow:
1 comment:
I became interested in the kakapo after reading Sy Montgomery & Nic Bishop's children's book "Kakapo Rescue." I will have to look for this one, as well as the YouTube BBC clip!
Post a Comment