Success in breeding kākāriki karaka
One of New Zealand's rarest and most endangered birds has been successfully bred at the Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre, near Masterton.
Orange-fronted parakeets (kākāriki karaka) were declared extinct twice in 1919 and 1965. Today their wild population number is just 100-300 individuals.
Successful hand-rearing of orange-fronted parakeets is considered extremely unlikely but Pūkaha had very little choice. The five chicks hatched in early August from one of the centre’s two breeding pairs, a male called Karaka and a female called Pōra. Not wanting to disturb the nest, it wasn’t until two weeks of age that rangers noticed that the feathers on the chicks were not developing. A closer inspection revealed that the chicks were bald and that their feathers had been plucked by their parents. Immediate intervention was required because the chicks were at imminent danger of dying from the cold. The only option for the parakeets’ survival was an attempt at hand-rearing.
The young chicks were immediately placed in brooders with heat lamps and fed a diet of parrot rearing formula. It took about three weeks for the chicks to get their feathers. Some six weeks later, all five chicks are fully grown, flying, and eating by themselves.
Poll: Are you still heading to your local for your caffeine fix, or has the $$ changed your habits? ☕
Wellington’s identity is built on its cafe culture, but with costs climbing, that culture is under pressure. We’ve seen the headlines about recent closures, and it’s a tough pill to swallow along with a $6+ coffee.
We all want our favourite spots to stay open, but we also have to balance our own budgets ⚖️
We want to know: How are you handling the "coffee math" in 2026? Are you still heading to your local for a chat and a caffeine fix, or has the cost of living changed your habits?
Keen to read more about "coffee math"? The Post has you covered.
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37.9% I avoid spending money on coffee
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49.5% I still indulge at my local cafe
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12.6% Irrelevant - coffee is not for me
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Do you think you know the answer?
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