Kakapo

The Kakapo is a critically endangered bird, found exclusively in New Zealand.

Male kakapos weigh 2 4 kilograms on average, and females weigh 1 2.5
kilos. They are generally between 58 and 64 centimetres in length. These
rare birds have beautiful moss green feathers, with are mottled with a
variation of shades of yellow and brown. They also have large grey beaks and
talons to help capture their food.
Kakapos (strigops habroptila) eat fruit (generally rimu berries), seeds, bark,
leaves, stems and roots. They tend to forage and eat this food during the
night, as they are nocturnal animals. During the night, should they encounter
a predator, or feel as though they are being disturbed, they will freeze in
place. This is not very effective when they are protecting their young. During
breeding season, male kakapos appear to inflate, and emit a low boom call
to attract females. This call can be heard from up to 5 kilometres away. Once
they have bred, a female kakapo usually produces between 1 and 4 eggs.
This small amount does not help the population, as they only breed once
every 2 5 years, and the birds dont reach breeding maturity until they are 9
10 years old.
Kakapos breed in nests on the ground, as they are flightless birds, in New
Zealand broadleaf forests. They reside on Codfish, Maud, Little Barrier and
Anchor Island. All of these islands have been made predator free, to reduce
the risk of the birds being killed and to encourage a healthy population. This,
however, is not as easy as there is only a small population of 125 birds left.
There is such a lack of this species, and therefore biodiversity within the
species, due to a variety of threats. When the Maori arrived in New Zealand,
they introduced the Polynesian dog and rat, who preyed on this rare species
of bird. During the 1800s, they were hunted for their beautiful feathers and
meat. The Europeans who settled in this time introduced domestic cats and
dogs as well as rats and stoats, creatures who preyed upon the kakapo due to
its strong and easily detectable scent, it defensive (freezing) behaviour,
ground nesting and flightless behaviour. These Europeans also introduced
deer and possums which competed with the kakapos for food. They then
proceeded to cleared forests which were the kakapos home, further reducing
numbers. The kakapos are also currently critically endangered also due to
their low numbers. As the numbers decreased so rapidly, and kakapos only
breed once every 2 5 years, there is not much of a chance in boosting the
population.
In order to save the Kakapo, a fundraiser would be held where people would
pay to name an endangered Kakapo chick. The money raised from this event
would be given to Kakapo Recovery, a foundation dedicated to saving the
Kakapo birds, to aid them in increasing the Kakapo population. It would help

them develop technology to ensure that chicks survive infancy in the ground
nests the Kakapo reside in, as Kakapo birds only breed once every 2 5
years, only producing 1 4 eggs. For example, a monitoring system could be
put in place, where, although the birds would be given privacy, they could be
watched to keep the chicks out of harms way, or more specifically a
predators way. This money could also go towards a predator control program,
to either remove Kakapos from the predator infected areas or remove
predators from selected areas where Kakapos are considered abundant.
People living in New Zealand could be educated on products being made with
the wood supplied by deforestation of the Kakapos habitat, and be told about
alternatives to the harmful products. This would increase the area that the
kakapo are able to occupy. With the help of this technology, the kakapo birds
could have a chance of rebirthing their population, and leaving the title of
critically endangered behind.

Mountain Pygmy

Possum
The Mountain Pygmy possum is the largest of the
pygmy possums, but is critically endangered.
There are only 2000 of these tiny possums left in the wild. These possums
are a grey brown colour from there back to head, with the middle of their
back occasionally being a darker colour. Their fluffy underside can be
anywhere from a pale grey/brown to creamy colour. They have a thin,
scaly tail that is usually between 13 and 16 centimetres long. The head to
body length of this possum is a mere 10 13 centimetres long. They
generally weigh between 30 and 60 grams and have short spiky hair,
distributed evenly around their body, that doesnt help much while they
hibernate in the winter.

During the winter, to survive hibernation, they put on lots of fat on their
body to warm themselves and roll up into a ball. During this period they
do not eat. Before and after hibernation, the pygmy possum feeds on
seeds, nuts, berries and, its favourite food, the Bogong moth. They pry
open the hard shells of seeds and nuts with their large premolar tooth. All
of this food is collected during the night, as mountain pygmy possums are
nocturnal.
The mountain pygmy possums live on mountain summits in Victoria,
commonly near a plant called mountain plum-pine. Their homes are found
near boulder fields, which are the summer sites for Bogong moths, one of
the mountain pygmy possums main sources of food. They are they only
Australian mammal to live exclusively in subalpine regions, making them
incredibly unique to Australia. Unfortunately, the area that they occupy
and live in is only estimated to be less than 7km2, making their chances of
survival slim.
Global warming is one of the largest threats to this species. It is melting
the snow cover that the possums rely on to hide them and give them
security whilst hibernating. This increases their visibility in their most
vulnerable state, leaving them easy prey for predators. Their numbers are
also decreasing rapidly due to the predation of red foxes and feral cats.
Another threat that the mountain pygmy possums face relates to their
main food source, the Bogong moths. Pesticides are being sprayed in their
breeding grounds, reducing their numbers and having a second hand
effect of the possums.
In order to preserve this unique species, something needs to be done. A
fundraiser will be held, a save the possum event, and the money raised
will be given to the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife (FNPW). This
event will involve activities in the snow, the possums natural habitat.
Money will be raised during this event via entry fees and an auction,
where ski gear will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The FNPW will

then use the money for global warming research and predator control. If
methods of stopping, or even slowing down global warming can be found,
it will decrease the melting of the snow that covers the possums during
hibernation. This, in turn, will further protect the possums from predators.
The money can also be put towards a predator control program, where the
amounts of red foxes and feral cats in and able to access the small 7km2
area the possums call home will be reduced. This will occur as, due to
global warming, the snow cover the possums rely on is reducing, leaving
them vulnerable for predation during hibernation. With these plans,
hopefully the snow cover can be increased and the meagre 2000
population can be raised in the nearby future.

Bibliography:
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