Baby Kakapo

I am happy to have discovered that fellow cute, fluffy birds, the Kakapos have had three new chicks and are expecting five more this season. Kakapo are large flightless parrots that live on a very limited number of small islands in New Zealand. They are horribly endangered and eight new chicks are a massive boost to these lovely, if slightly stupid, birds. You can read the full report on the BBC website.

If such stories and concerns are your thing, I would recommend reading 'Last Chance To See' by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine. It is a short guide to a half a dozen of the world's most endangered animals and enviroments but written with all of Douglas Adams' wit and skill. And it has pictures of cute animals.

The BBC article describes the great lengths that conservation workers are going to in order to protect the Kakapo. Should this be the case or would the resources be better spent doing other things?

I think that we should be looking after the Kakapo. Firstly, the reason they are near extinction is the introduction to New Zealand of foreign predators, cats for example, that the native eco-system was in no way prepared for. This is a minor reason in my mind, and I accept the argument that new predators can reach untouched land perfectly well of their own accord, albeit with far less frequency than with human help.

My main reason is my desire to keep this world as the utterly beautiful and wonderful place that it is. Kakapo are odd little creatures that are totally unique. If we abandon every endangered animal to their fate we will rapidly run out of variety and interest and be left with a planet full of humans, rats and ferral pigeons. And ducks of course, we aren't going anywhere. That doesn't appeal to me, especially when we have such an astounding place to start with.

Of course, destroying the natural balance of the world will make our own lives so much harder. I have no doubt that humans have the resources, both mental and physical, to ultimately survive any disasters that we unleash upon ourselves and are in fact currently unleashing on ourselves. But it would be so much easier, and thus productive in the long run, if we work in accord with the rest of the world.

Especially with the ducks and their friends the Kakapo.