On 1 September, New Zealand's Department of Conservation added 90 kakapo chicks to the official population, pushing the total to 325, the first time the world's heaviest parrot species has exceeded 300 birds in 75 years. ^[1] The population of the Kakapo, a flightless parrot native to New Zealand, has reached a record high of 325 birds. ^[2] Andrew Digby said on 2026-08-31 that the kakapo population has reached 325 birds, with the chicks from the record breeding season now added as juveniles. ^[3] Deidre Vercoe, the conservation department's kakapo recovery operations manager, said that the last time the population is thought to have exceeded 300 birds may have been as long as 75 years ago. ^[4] The record breeding season was triggered by a mass fruiting of native rimu trees; kakapo breed every two to four years when rimu trees produce large numbers of berries, and the 2026 season followed a four-year gap. ^[5] The 90 chicks born during the 2026 breeding season all survived and were counted as independent individuals, pushing the total population over 300. ^[6] There are three kakapo breeding populations, all located on predator-free islands off New Zealand's South Island. ^[7] Conservation efforts began in 1995 when only 51 Kakapos remained, focusing on improving genetic diversity and breeding rates on predator-free islands. ^[8]