1. Lek System:
- Male kakapos establish leks, which are communal display grounds during the breeding season.
- These leks are usually in open areas surrounded by dense vegetation.
2. Lekking Behavior:
- During the lekking season, which typically occurs every two to five years, males gather at leks to attract females.
- Males produce loud, booming calls known as "booms" from underground burrows to impress females.
3. Female Choice:
- Females visit the leks and select a mate based on the quality of the booms and the attractiveness of the male's display.
- Females are known to be choosy in selecting mates, often favoring older males with larger booms.
4. Nesting:
- Nesting occurs in burrows on the ground or in cavities of trees.
- Females create nests lined with soft plant material to lay their eggs.
5. Incubation:
- Typically, a female kakapo lays 1-2 eggs per nesting season.
- The incubation period lasts approximately 50 days, and the female solely incubates the eggs.
6. Chick Rearing:
- After hatching, the chicks are altricial, meaning they are born helpless and entirely dependent on their mother.
- The female kakapo cares for the chicks and feeds them regurgitated food until they can forage independently.
7. Breeding Frequency:
- Due to their low reproductive rate and specific breeding conditions, kakapos produce offspring only once every few years.
To preserve the critically endangered kakapo population, intensive conservation efforts have been made in recent decades to protect their habitat, control predators, and implement artificial insemination techniques to boost their reproductive success.