Air New Zealand captain Eric Fontein shows Sirocco the
cockpit. Photo by Craig Baxter.
They say he doesn't know he's a bird. Sirocco the kakapo
thinks he's human.
So it should come as no surprise he got to fly with
passengers on an Air New Zealand 737 flight to Dunedin last
night rather than in the hold with the luggage.
His minder on the flight, Forest and Bird conservation
advocate Nicola Vallance, said he was just another passenger
on a busy flight.
"He was fine. He screeched a couple of times; otherwise he
was happy to sit there and snack on slices of apples. He's
travelled a lot now, so it's not unfamiliar to him. I think
he likes the attention, just quietly."
Sirocco, one of only 131 kakapo in the world, arrived in the
South last night for a holiday at Orokonui.
The big bird became a YouTube star following his appearance
on a BBC documentary and has built a following on Facebook.
He was hand-raised after catching a respiratory illness at
the age of 3 weeks, an ordeal which left him not realising he
was a bird.
Sirocco has since become an advocate for the Department of
Conservation.
He now lives on Maud Island, in the Marlborough Sounds, but
occasionally travels to enable people to see a kakapo.
So, during the Rugby World Cup, he will go on tour, visiting
Orokonui and then Zealandia in Wellington.
Orokonui general manager Chris Baillie said the species was
on the brink of extinction just 30 years ago.
"We hope this opportunity to experience Siroccco will inspire
everyone to play a part in kakapo recovery."
Before the visit could take place, the ecosanctuary had to
sign a deed of agreement with the Department of Conservation,
including details around security, safety, comfort and
feeding.
He will live in a special enclosure at Orokonui for most of
September. The viewing part of the enclosure is surrounded in
perspex, allowing people to see him.
The ecosanctuary will run three tours a night to visit the
enclosure and has so far sold 500 tickets, about a third of
the spots available.
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