In a world-first for kākāpō conservation, a drone (nicknamed the 'spermcopter') has flown kākāpō sperm across Whenua Hou / Codfish Island - the Kākāpō Files was there for episode 10.

There is good news from down south, where the endangered kākāpō is having its best breeding season ever. No one is game enough to predict exactly how many chicks might make it to adulthood, but the numbers look promising.  Kākāpō Files producer Alison Ballance has just been down to Whenua Hou / Codfish Island to check on the action.

More than 160 kākāpō eggs have been laid and the first 21 chicks have hatched, but there is also news of the first chick death, in episode 9 of the Kākāpō Files.

The chicks that have hatched are off to Dunedin, the females have started mating again, and there is breeding action on Hauturu, all in episode 8 of the Kākāpō Files.

The first two chicks of the 2019 kākāpō breeding season have hatched and the exciting news keeps coming in, in episode 7 of the Kākāpō Files.

Forty eight out of fifty kākāpō females on the southern islands have mated, nesting is well underway and the first AI has been carried out, all in episode 6 of the Kākāpō Files.

The most popular kākāpō males will get a chance to do it all over again as the females are encouraged to mate and nest for a second time, in episode 5 of the Kākāpō Files.

Don't count your kākāpō chicks until they hatch, kākāpō leaky homes and lots more kākāpō sex, all in episode 4 of the Kākāpō Files

Kākāpō breeding action really kicked off on Christmas Eve and in episode 3 of the Kākāpō Files we discover it is in full swing.

In episode 2 of the Kakapo Files we find out that when it comes to kakapo breeding the early birds are, well, very early.

The kākāpō is one of the world's rarest birds, and in the first episode of the Kākāpō Files we learn about the giant flightless parrot's 'love triangle.'