Friday, September 1 2006 14:44 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Wellington: Visitors to New Zealand have a rare chance to see one of the world's rarest birds: the flightless kakapo, only 86 of which are known to be alive. But they will have to be quick. Sirocco, a nine-year-old male bird, is on display at a sanctuary on Ulva Island, near Stewart Island, but only until Oct 23. It is usually impossible to see the nocturnal kakapo, the world's heaviest parrots which are unique to New Zealand. They were thought to be extinct until 29 years ago when a colony of about 200 was found on rugged Stewart Island at the foot of the country. Their size (males can weigh up to 4 kg) and inability to fly left them very vulnerable to wild cats and other predators. Since they do not breed every year, their numbers were dwindling fast. The department of conservation then launched a recovery strategy, moving the birds to a protected environment on two small predator-free offshore islands and instituting a breeding programme in 1990 to try to ensure their survival. Access to the islands is restricted to ensure that no predators are introduced. So few people outside the department of conservation's (DOC) kakapo recovery team get to see the birds. DOC and the trust that manages the 260-hectare bush-covered Ulva Island arranged the temporary public appearance of the kakapo to publicise the recovery programme and to give New Zealanders who have supported it the chance to see one. But they said they had also had bookings from as far away as Japan and Britain to see Sirocco. Sirocco was chosen because he is no longer part of the breeding programme and a trust spokesperson said that having been hand-reared by humans, he was very sociable with people. One of his first visitors was New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who said the story of the kakapo was one of the 'great fights for survival'. "It's fantastic to have the opportunity to see one in its natural environment," she said.

"It was a really special experience to be able to see a kakapo," he said. Kakapos are thought to be the longest-living bird species, surviving for up to 60 years if they escape predators.