Famous rare kākāpō Sirocco to stay at Wellington’s ZEALANDIA

ZEALANDIA Media Release - 19th July 2011

Famous rare kākāpō Sirocco to stay at Wellington’s ZEALANDIA.

When: End of September and through October.
Where: ZEALANDIA: The Karori Sanctuary Experience, Wellington.

Sirocco the kākāpō is coming to Wellington’s award winning ecosanctuary: ZEALANDIA. Wellington has never before hosted an adult kākāpō - the world’s rarest parrot. Seeing one is a unique and, until recently, exclusive experience.

“Seeing Sirocco will not only be entertaining but also really help people to understand how remarkable our natural history is and why conservation efforts need all the help they can get. We’re very excited and feel privileged to host him.” ZEALANDIA Chief Executive Nancy McIntosh-Ward said.

Internet sensation Sirocco is most famous for enthusiastically ‘shagging’ Mark Carwardine’s head as Stephen Fry laughed from the sidelines in 2009’s BBC programme Last Chance to See. The incident propelled him to star status with over 3 million views on YouTube. He is now the world’s first official spokesbird for conservation with over 7,000 Facebook fans and over 3,000 Twitter followers.

“This is an amazing opportunity for locals and visitors to come face to face with one of the strangest, rarest and most charismatic of New Zealand’s native species. Kākāpō evolved to flourish in an environment free of mammalian predators but came very close to extinction after the introduction of mammalian pests. We’re looking forward to hosting Sirocco, he’s a powerful advocate for his species” ZEALANDIA Conservation Manager Raewyn Empson said.

Hosting a famous rare parrot takes serious preparation and funds. Sirocco’s visit is proudly sponsored by our principal partner Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand with funding from The Lion Foundation and Karori Brooklyn Community Charitable Trust.

Kākāpō are nocturnal so ZEALANDIA will be offering tours to see Sirocco in the evenings over late September and through October. Pricing and details have yet to be confirmed, register your interest at our website: www.visitzealandia.com/kakapo.

Sirocco is one of only 131 kākāpō surviving today. The rest live on predator-free islands closely monitored and supported by the Kākāpō Recovery Programme. Sirocco was hand-reared away from others of his species after suffering respiratory illness and consequently imprinted on humans, hence his kākāpō – human mating attempts!

As part of his Rugby World Cup plans Sirocco will also be staying at Orokanui Ecosanctuary in Dunedin over September.

Extra information
Kākāpō are flightless.
Kākāpō are the world’s heaviest parrot species.
Kākāpō are possibly the oldest living bird in the world.
Kākāpō have a subsonic mating boom that can travel several kilometers.
Nineteenth-century explorer Charles Douglas noted that he could shake a tree and kakapos would fall like ripe apples.

Sirocco hatched in 1997 and was raised on Codfish Island. He has spent time on Pearl Island, off Stewart Island, but now lives on Maud Island. He has previously been on display on Ulva Island in 2006, 2008 and 2009. He was on display at Auckland Zoo in 2009.

www.visitzealandia.com
www.kakaporecovery.org.nz

About ZEALANDIA

ZEALANDIA is managed by Karori Sanctuary Trust, a not-for-profit charitable community trust. It has a 500-year vision to restore this corner of New Zealand as closely as possible to the way it was ‘the day before humans arrived’.

Founded in 1995, in 1999 it became the world’s first fully-fenced eco-sanctuary. It has, to date, re-introduced 17 locally or nationally-endangered species into a wild state, including tuatara, little spotted kiwi, hihi and giant weta. As a result of these successes, at least 14 other fenced projects have been established in New Zealand.

In 2010 the Prime Minister opened the new $18m ZEALANDIA Visitor Complex, New Zealand’s first facility fully-dedicated to showcasing NZ natural history and the story of our conservation movement. State-of-the-art interactive exhibits enable visitors to ‘step back in time 1,000 years and experience a long-lost world.

ZEALANDIA is recognised around the world, not only for the groundbreaking work it is doing to turn back the clock, but also for the way it engages both locals and visitors in conservation. In 2009 it was recognised by the Global Restoration Network as one of the top 25 eco-restoration projects in Australasia, and in 2010 it received a prestigious Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award at the World Travel Market in London. It has been consistently listed by The Rough Guide as one of New Zealand’s top attractions and was recently included in The Guardian’s Green Travel Guide as one of the top 75 green tourism companies in the world.

ENDS