WELLINGTON: An unprecedented disease outbreak has pushed the critically endangered kakapo, the world's fattest parrot, closer to extinction, New Zealand scientists said Thursday .
An intense, decades-long conservation effort has seen kakapo numbers slowly rise from a low of about 50 in 1990, and earlier this year there was hope the species was turning the corner.The breeding programme resulted in 249 eggs laid, fuelling expectations at least 75 chicks would survive the year, more than double the previous record.
"It's an unprecedented threat and we're working really hard to understand why it's happened this year," he told TVNZ. The hypothesis is that the warm weather and crowded breeding nests on Codfish Island have led to an abundance of aspergillosis spores.
Health Health Latest News, Health Health Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »