Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Review of tracking procedures after kakapo death

Updated at 9:28 pm on 31 January 2012

The kakapo recovery programme says it will be reviewing the way transmitter harnesses are attached to the birds after the death of one kakapo at the weekend.

The bird, an older kakapo known as Sandra, was found dead on Anchor Island in Dusky Sound.

She had been caught in a tree by the transmitter harness.

Kakapo recovery programme manager Deidre Vercoe-Scott says the harnesses have been used for 31 years to track kakapo without any problems.

She says rangers will how review the way the harnesses are used to see if they can be made safer.

The kakapo population is 127 birds, making it one of New Zealand's rarest birds.

Three other kakapo have died since September last year, all from unrelated causes.

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