27-year-old male kākāpō Tīwai spent four nights at our veterinary hospital as a short ‘pit stop’ while on the move to his next picturesque island home.
While he was with us, our vet team carried out a health check and took samples to ensure he was in good condition. We also ensured he was given kākāpō appropriate kai - native vegetation and twice-daily tube feeds of a specially formulated parrot diet.
Tīwai hatched on Whenua Hou in 1997 in the same clutch as his very famous brother Sirocco! Since 2012, Tīwai has lived on Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island as part of a long-term site trial.
He was flown back down South last month by Air New Zealand and is currently completing his quarantine period (required of all kākāpō travelling from the North Island) on an island in Fiordland. Once complete, he will join one of the sanctuary islands ahead of the next predicted breeding season in 2026.
We’re always pleased to care for such precious manu on behalf of our friends and partners at the Department of Conservation’s Kākāpō Recovery. You can read more about the trial and future plans for kākāpō in their latest blog - https://blog.doc.govt.nz/2024/08/29/conservation-at-kakapo-pace/.
