Kākāpō Population Reaches Record 325 After Best-Ever Breeding Season

New Zealand's Department of Conservation confirmed the kākāpō population reached 325 birds on September 1, 2026, after 90 chicks from the 2026 breeding season were added to the official tally — a single-season record and roughly triple the previous best. The chicks were counted once the youngest surviving bird passed 150 days old, the age at which fledged kākāpō are considered independent. It is the first time the critically endangered flightless parrot's population has topped 300 in an estimated 75 years, and follows a four-year gap between breeding seasons caused by the species' reliance on the irregular 'mast' fruiting of rimu trees on its predator-free island sanctuaries. The Kākāpō Recovery Programme began in 1995 with just 51 birds, including only 20 females. DOC Kākāpō Recovery Operations Manager Deidre Vercoe said it took 16 years to produce 90 chicks in the programme's early years — this season did it in one.