Meet the Kākāpō: The World's Most Hilarious Bird Species

Summary

The kakapo, a critically endangered parrot native to New Zealand, stands out among its peers as the only flightless parrot species. With its unique characteristics like a robust body, strong legs, and nocturnal behavior, it has adapted to a life of walking and climbing. Despite facing numerous threats from human activities and predators, conservation efforts have successfully increased its population from a mere 50 to over 250. The bird's fascinating breeding habits, including its lek system and the use of an 'ejaculation helmet' for a human-raised kakapo named Srao, highlight the challenges and dedication involved in its recovery.

Takeaways

• 🐦 Parrots are birds with a curved beak and zygodactyl feet, but the kakapo is unique among them.
• 🌿 The kakapo is critically endangered and is the only parrot that cannot fly due to its small wings, lack of a wishbone, and large pelvis.
• 🏞️ Native to New Zealand, the kakapo is a nocturnal bird that walks and climbs well but does not fly.
• 🌳 Kakapos have a slow metabolism and are herbivores, surviving on vegetation and fruit, particularly the remu fruit.
• 🌑 They are one of the only two parrot species that are nocturnal, which helps them avoid daytime predators.
• 🐾 When threatened, kakapos try to blend in with their environment rather than fly away, which can be ineffective against certain predators.
• 🔍 Humans have negatively impacted kakapos through hunting, deforestation, and the introduction of non-native species like deers, cats, rats, and stoats.
• 🥚 Kakapos have unique breeding habits, including lekking behavior and long, loud mating calls to attract females.
• 🧬 Inbreeding is a problem for kakapos, leading to low fertilization rates, and efforts are being made to increase genetic diversity.
• 🆘 Conservation efforts, including the kakapo recovery program, have successfully increased the population from 50 to over 250 birds.

Q & A

What is unique about the kakapo parrot?

The kakapo is unique because it is the only parrot that cannot fly, has a slow metabolism, and is nocturnal.

Why are kakapos unable to fly?

Kakapos are unable to fly due to several factors: their wings are small relative to their body size, they lack a wishbone which supports flight, and they have a larger pelvis and strong thighs that make them better walkers and climbers.

How do kakapos use their wings if they can't fly?

Although kakapos can't fly, they use their wings for balance and jumping, and they can glide down a few meters using their wings as a mini parachute.

What is the significance of the kakapo's nocturnal behavior?

Kakapos are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. This behavior is advantageous as it allows them to avoid many of their predators that are active during the day.

How does the kakapo's diet influence its reproductive behavior?

The kakapo's diet, particularly its reliance on the remu fruit, affects its reproductive behavior. They may not mate for up to 5 years if the fruit is not available, as it is crucial for their mating rituals.

What challenges do kakapos face in their breeding system?

Kakapos face challenges in their breeding system due to inbreeding, which results in less than half of the eggs being fertilized. They also exhibit a lekking system where males compete to attract females with loud mating calls.

What is the role of the 'ejaculation helmet' in kakapo conservation efforts?

The 'ejaculation helmet' was a tool invented to help a specific kakapo named Srao, who had difficulty mating due to identifying as human. It was used to collect his sperm for artificial insemination to increase genetic diversity.

How has human activity impacted the kakapo population?

Human activities, such as hunting, deforestation, and the introduction of predators like cats, rats, and stoats, have significantly reduced the kakapo population. However, conservation efforts have helped increase their numbers from a low of 50 to over 250.

What is the significance of the remu fruit to the kakapo's survival?

The remu fruit is vital to the kakapo's survival as it is a key part of their diet. The availability of this fruit influences their mating behavior, and a lack of it can lead to years without mating.

How have conservation efforts improved the kakapo's breeding success?

Conservation efforts have improved the kakapo's breeding success by introducing artificial insemination to increase genetic diversity, using smart egg technology to incubate eggs, and providing a rich food supply, particularly remu fruit.

What is the current status of the kakapo population?

As of 2019, the kakapo population has increased to over 250 birds due to successful conservation efforts, including breeding programs and habitat protection.

Outlines

00:00

🦜 The Unique Kakapo: A Flightless Parrot

The script introduces the kakapo, a critically endangered parrot species native to New Zealand. Unlike other parrots, the kakapo is flightless due to its small wings, lack of a wishbone, and large pelvis. Despite its inability to fly, the kakapo is adept at walking and climbing, using its wings for balance and short glides. It has a slow metabolism, being a herbivore that primarily feeds on vegetation and fruit, especially the remu fruit. The kakapo is also unique for being a nocturnal parrot, which helps it avoid predators. However, its inability to fly and its breeding habits make it vulnerable to threats from humans and introduced species. The script humorously describes the kakapo's awkward interactions when threatened and its unusual mating calls, which involve loud booming noises and digging holes to attract females.

05:01

🌱 The Kakapo's Struggle with Breeding and Conservation Efforts

This paragraph delves into the kakapo's breeding habits, which are characterized by inbreeding and a lek system, leading to a low fertilization rate of eggs. The script humorously describes the mating rituals, including the males' booming calls that can last for hours and the females' difficulty in locating the males. It also recounts the story of a kakapo named Srao, who was raised by humans and developed a preference for human interaction over mating with other kakapos. The script discusses the challenges faced by conservationists in helping the kakapo reproduce, including the invention of an 'ejaculation helmet' and the use of artificial insemination to increase genetic diversity. The paragraph concludes with a positive note on the success of the kakapo recovery program, which has significantly increased the population from a critically low number to over 250 birds, thanks to efforts like providing remu fruit and using new egg incubation techniques.

Keywords

💡Kakapo

The kakapo is a critically endangered species of parrot native to New Zealand. It is notable for being the world's largest parrot and also the only flightless parrot. The video discusses how the kakapo's inability to fly, due to its small wings and large size, has shaped its behavior and survival strategies. The bird's unique characteristics, such as its nocturnal nature and its reliance on the remu fruit, are central to the video's exploration of its struggle for survival.

💡Zygodactyl feet

Zygodactyl feet refer to a type of foot structure found in some birds, including parrots, where two of the toes point forward and two backward. This adaptation is beneficial for climbing trees. In the video, it is mentioned that parrots, including the kakapo, have zygodactyl feet, which are crucial for their climbing abilities, as the kakapo is an excellent climber despite its inability to fly.

💡Nocturnal

Nocturnal creatures are those that are active during the night and sleep during the day. The video highlights that the kakapo is one of the only two parrots that are nocturnal, which is an intelligent adaptation to avoid diurnal predators. This behavior is significant as it influences the kakapo's feeding habits and its unique mating rituals, which take place during the night.

💡Herbivores

Herbivores are animals that primarily eat plants and plant-based material. The kakapo, as described in the video, is a pure herbivore, surviving on vegetation and fruit. The remu fruit is particularly vital to their diet, and the video explains how the availability of this fruit can impact their breeding cycles, emphasizing the kakapo's dependency on its natural food sources.

💡Metabolism

Metabolism refers to the chemical processes that occur within a living organism to maintain life. The video points out that the kakapo has an extremely slow metabolism, which allows it to survive on minimal amounts of vegetation and fruit. This slow metabolism is an adaptation that may have evolved due to the kakapo's primarily herbivorous diet and its sedentary lifestyle.

💡Inbreeding

Inbreeding occurs when closely related individuals reproduce, leading to a higher likelihood of genetic disorders due to reduced genetic diversity. The video discusses the kakapo's inbreeding problem, which results in a low fertilization rate of eggs. This issue is a significant challenge for the species' survival and has led to conservation efforts aimed at increasing genetic diversity.

💡Mating calls

Mating calls are sounds made by animals to attract a mate. The kakapo's mating call is particularly unique, involving a loud 'boom' produced by the male from a hole it digs. This call can be heard over a kilometer away and is a central part of the bird's reproductive behavior. The video uses the mating call as an example of the kakapo's unusual and fascinating behaviors.

💡Conservation efforts

Conservation efforts are actions taken to protect and preserve species and their habitats. The video discusses various conservation efforts for the kakapo, including the use of artificial insemination to increase genetic diversity and the management of the bird's habitat. These efforts have been crucial in increasing the kakapo population from a critically low number to a more stable count.

💡Polynesian settlers

Polynesian settlers, known as the Maori, arrived in New Zealand in the 14th century. The video mentions how these settlers hunted the kakapo, contributing to its decline. The historical context of human interaction with the kakapo is important for understanding the species' current endangered status and the challenges it faces.

💡European settlers

European settlers had a significant impact on the kakapo population, as they further reduced their habitat through deforestation and introduced new predators such as deers, cats, rats, and stoats. The video emphasizes the negative effects of human activities on the kakapo, highlighting the challenges faced by the species due to human-induced environmental changes.

💡Ejaculation helmet

The 'ejaculation helmet' is a device mentioned in the video that was created as part of the conservation efforts for the kakapo. It was designed to collect sperm from a particular kakapo named Srao, who had difficulty mating due to his identification with humans. This example illustrates the innovative and sometimes unusual methods employed by scientists to aid in the繁殖 of endangered species.

Highlights

Parrots are characterized by a curved beak and zygodactyl feet.

Kakapos are critically endangered parrots native to New Zealand.

Kakapos are the only parrots that cannot fly due to small wings and lack of a wishbone.

They have strong legs and are excellent walkers and climbers.

Kakapos have a slow metabolism and are herbivores, surviving on vegetation and fruit.

They are nocturnal, avoiding predators by being active during the night.

When threatened, kakapos try to blend in rather than fly away.

Human activities have significantly impacted kakapos, including hunting and habitat destruction.

Inbreeding is common in kakapos due to their small population.

Kakapos have a lek breeding system with males making loud booming calls to attract females.

The booming calls can be heard over a kilometer away and last for hours.

A kakapo named Srao was raised by humans and identified as one, refusing to mate with other kakapos.

Researchers invented an 'ejaculation helmet' to assist Srao's mating behavior.

Kakapos rely heavily on the remu fruit for their breeding cycle.

Artificial insemination and egg technology have been used to increase genetic diversity.

The kakapo recovery program has successfully increased the population from 50 to over 250.

In a single year, 72 chicks were born due to an abundance of remu fruit and new egg technology.

Transcripts

[Music]

another one parrots are a type of bird

characterized by a curved beak

zygodactyl feet which are pretty much a

chiropractor visit gone horrific and

some juicy ass drumsticks or some

scientists like to say strong legs now

out of the four families of parents one

of them host species that are just a

teeny bit different than the rest and

wouldn't you know it it's the one smack

dab in New Zealand take a hard look at

this guy that right there is what I like

to call critically endangered called the

kakapo if it'ss with the rest of the

parrots like a kid who doesn't pee in

the pool a total Outcast but basically

this twoot long bird is the only parrot

that doesn't have the ability to fly

this is the result of multiple different

factors one its wings are

proportionately small to its body two

unlike many birds they don't have a

wishbone which supports flight and three

they have an absolutely volumptuous

world class ad a slightly larger pelvis

than other parss due to their gargantuan

thunder thighs they're extremely good

Walkers and Climbers on the endurance

side these fellas can walk several miles

at a time but where they really Excel is

during climbing where they'll use their

claws and beaks to climb up trees man if

only there was an easier way to reach

the

top God damn it on the bright side

kakapo wings aren't entirely useless

they're actually pretty useful for

keeping balance and jumping specifically

they have the ability to Glide down a

few meters by using their wings as a

mini parachute any more than a few

meters

and that happens however not flying has

a couple of unexpected advantages one

benefit is that kabos have an extremely

slow metabolism they are pure herbivores

surviving most of the year on bareass

amounts of vegetation and fruit with

fruit being vital to their survival more

on that later but what makes the kakapo

special is that they are one of the only

two Pars in the world that are nocturnal

so rather than scr around for scraps in

the day they choose to dumpster dive and

dine in the evening this behavior is

actually three quadrillion IQ since a

lot of their predators go hunting during

the daytime unfortunately this paired

with the fact that they can't fly means

they have a lot of awkward interaction

when a Kakao feels threatened rather

than run away it'll just sit there and

try to blend in with its environment yo

you know I could see you

right now while this may work with

flying Predators hundreds of feet away

there's at least one animal that it

doesn't work on and this animal happens

to be an absolute nightmare for the

kakapo humans have indirectly and

possibly directly [ __ ] kakapos over to

begin with in the 14th century

Polynesian settlers known as the a

arrived and began vigorously hunting the

bird due to it being a walking three

course meal on top of this Polynesian

dogs also hunted the poor bird but even

kakapo are doing better than these dogs

now so who's really the victim now as if

this wasn't enough [ __ ] humans pulled

the European settlers card which is the

equivalent of death by firing squad for

Native species by this point kakapos had

already been squeezed into select Forest

areas by humans and like the kind Souls

settlers were they took it upon

themselves to Deforest even more kakapo

land but that wasn't enough love so they

release cute old deers to keep the birds

company and eat all their food and then

for shits and giggles they introduce

cats rats and stoats all of which eat

kakapos and their eggs honestly I don't

think it could have gotten much worse

than that speaking of their eggs let's

dive into their interesting breeding

habits as a wise man once said [ __ ] now

think later and that's exactly what

kakapos do there's so much inbreeding

within the kakapo population that it

puts European royalty a shame it's so

problematic that less than half of the

eggs are ever fertilized in the first

place they're basically in a constant

state of [ __ ] their relatives with

each session making them more and more

related oh my [ __ ] God anyways these

parrots will do almost anything to get

some cooch they exhibit a Le breeding

system which is basically trying to pull

a girl with the boys they'll gather

around do a little fighting you know

casually kill 100th of their population

but the real weird part is their mating

calls they'll go near some trees and

rocks and proceed to dig a for 4 in deep

hole after their hard labor is paid off

they'll sit in their hole puff up their

chest and release an ungodly loud boom

this boom can be heard more than a

kilometer away alerting females to try

to trace the subwoofer down now remember

the Lex system this means that in a

given area there will be multiple 808s

blasting from all directions leading the

females getting lost and not finding the

males at all in order to solve this

issue males decided on quantity over

quality and will make these Booms for 8

hours a

night for up to four months God damn as

you can imagine this constant noise at

night would [ __ ] over anybody's sleep

settlers would get so angry at this bird

that they'd Shake nearby trees so that

they fall out like apples now if the

female somehow stumbles upon the Boomer

the male will perform a quick little

ritual first it'll make clicking sounds

while swaying side to side if that

female repellent of a move doesn't scare

her off he'll spread his wings for her

while walking backward and then proceed

to attempt yes attempt to breathe for a

whole 40 minutes 2 minutes take it or

leave it one notorious kakapo named srao

was raised by humans his whole life due

to having respiratory problems without

any other kakapos around him during his

development as a chick srao began to

slowly identify himself as a human this

issue became apparent when it would

refuse to mate with other kakaos but

instead took a liking to human heads

warning you are about to watch some

weird ass [ __ ] yo chill yo chill yo

chill yo what the [ __ ] oh my god get the

[ __ ] off of me what the [ __ ] you doing

what he is getting [ __ ] oh my God

somebody get this [ __ ] animal off of

me man this footage is great I know

right why the [ __ ] are you guys just

watching it wasn't just this instance

either remember the holes and booming

noises well srao only did that around

humans at his Sanctuary he lurk around

bathrooms waiting for unfortunate

workers to be his next victim Sako was

so down bad that researchers invented a

special tool for him called the

ejaculation

helmet the ejaculation helmet it was

made out of rubber and contained a bunch

of pockets for sako's bedroom Behavior

unfortunately this invention ended with

two sad conclusions one no volunteer

could handle sako's hourlong mating

requisite and two I can't get my hands

on this helmet now sits in a museum next

to Chloe a failed kakapo sex doll the

reason why scientists try so hard to get

this bird to mate is because they well

don't really mate for long periods of

time remember how I said fruits are

important well these birds rely so much

on the remu fruit that they will

absolutely not [ __ ] without

it I can't believe

it this is genuinely a serious issue

since it results in up to 5 years

without any intercourse and even then

not every bed sesh is a success

additionally scientists collect kakapo

sperm to artificially introduce genetic

diversity into the population say

goodbye to disorders Horrors and

aborters and welcome to the world of

diversity these changes have increased

the ferti ization rate of eggs the

amount of eggs and the probability that

chicks won't become anything like sraco

but seriously shout out to the kakapo

recovery program which has brought the

bird from an alarmingly low population

of 50 to more than 250 thriving birds as

of this year in 2019 holy [ __ ] it's been

4 years an astounding 72 chicks were

born in a single year this was thanks to

boatloads of remu fruit and also new

smart egg technology which translates

into stealing eggs and intense

gaslighting as in they left incubating

straight silicone for a month now all

that's left really is to bring back the

dodo

bird I'll

[Music]

wait