Pearl, 19, produced the chick, called Pearl-A-1-2022, which was found earlier this week.
The chick was observed in the nest at 2am on Tuesday, looking fluffy enough for Department of Conservation staff to conclude it was a January chick.
The name of the chick comes from the naming convention of the species – the name of the mother, the number of eggs and the year.
Although Pearl-A-1-2022 was the first of Pearl’s 2022 brood, she also had two other eggs, which were expected to hatch over the next few days, Doc said.
One was in her nest, while the other had been moved to an incubator on Anchor Island to give her the best chance of survival.
He would be paired with a chick of the same age and raised by an adoptive mother.
Baby Pearl-A-1-2022 had a checkup at 5 a.m. Wednesday and weighed 37g. The chick appeared to be in good health.
The new arrival brings the number of existing kakapo to 202. The population was 51 in 1995 and has therefore held up well.
Kakapo only breed every two to three years, so each breeding season is critical to the future of the species.
Doc kakapo’s director of operations, Deidre Vercoe, said the hatching weather could be trying for staff, but also wonderful.
“It’s a huge reward for the hard-working team members to know that there is more and more hope for the kakapo with every healthy chick that hatches,” she said. .
“The 2022 kakapo team has a very unique challenge. In other words, how to handle a large, infrequent breeding event for a critically endangered species in the midst of a pandemic.
“As the kakapo population increases, we have reduced the intensity of breeding management. The pandemic could further reduce this practical work.
“The information gained from this unique situation will provide valuable information to guide future breeding management approaches.”
A check of eggs in other areas had shown that at least 25 eggs were fertile.