Avian Adoption

For my birthday I’ve been given symbolic adoption of a bird. Not just any bird, but a kākāpō. “My” bird is Marama, one of only 201 of the critically endangered species alive today. She was hatched on Codfish Island on 6 March 2002 and is the smallest adult in the population

It occurs to me that as female kākāpō start breeding around six years of age, she may have children. Maybe I’m a kākāpō grandmother! Kākāpō are possibly one of the longest-lived birds with a life expectancy of over 90 years. Marama will probably outlive me.

Years ago I adopted a Powelliphanta snail, a giant invertebrate native to Aotearoa, ranked as being of national conservation concern. I named my snail Serena, giving her a female name despite these snails being hermaphrodites. In 2005 I was concerned when she needed to be moved because of mining in her habitat on the Stockton Plateau of the West Coast. I’ve since lost track of her and don’t know how she fared after being transferred.

In the 1970s our family adopted a tiny tortoise that lived at Auckland Zoo. Not long afterwards we read in the Herald that tiny tortoises had been kidnapped from the zoo, and wondered if ours had suffered a sad fate.

I just hope Marama lives a long and peaceful life without stressful disruption.

I hope that she will prove to be
a bird of great longevity