One parrot dad fathered ten of this year's chicks

New Zealand added a record 90 kakapo chicks to its population this year, pushing the total for the flightless parrot to 325 birds, the Department of Conservation announced September 1. The species had crashed to just 51 birds in 1995, only 20 of them female. "It took about 16 years to make 90 chicks in the early days of the recovery program," conservationist Deidre Vercoe told Radio New Zealand's "Kakapo Files" podcast. "And we've just done that in one season." The kakapo is the world's heaviest parrot, weighing up to nine pounds, and breeds only every two to four years when rimu trees fruit heavily. This year brought one of the best crops in decades. The season also produced a standout. A 10-year-old first-time father named Tūterangi mated with six females and produced ten living chicks, earning the informal title of dad of the year. The next breeding season is expected around 2028.