Kākāpō to head home from Auckland Zoo after lengthy battle with deadly disease

Tuesday, 4 February 2020

Margaret Maree, a kākāpō from Codfish Island, has survived her battle with a potentially fatal fungal lung infection (first published in 2020).

After eight months of battling a rare and deadly disease, 34-year-old kākāpō Margaret Maree is finally heading home.

She was one of 12 kākāpō treated by Auckland Zoo after an outbreak of aspergillosis - a mould or fungus that infects the lungs - on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island.

Nearly 50 of the critically endangered birds were brought to the mainland from Whenua Hou, near Stewart Island, to be assessed after the outbreak last year.

A total of 21 birds were diagnosed with the disease. Nine died, including three at Auckland Zoo.

There are a total of 211 kākāpō in New Zealand.

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After eight months of treatment, Margaret Maree can go home to Whenua Hou/Codfish Island.

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Margaret Maree went to Auckland Zoo for treatment for aspergillosis in May 2019.

On January 30, Margaret Maree had her seventh CT scan at Veterinary Specialists Auckland in Mt Wellington after being brought to the zoo in May for treatment.

Test results have given Margaret Maree the all clear and she will return to her home with another kākāpō on Wednesday.

Senior veterinarian for Auckland Zoo, Dr An Pas, said staff were very pleased that she could go home after a 'long and challenging' period.

'Being able to send the last two kākāpō home, one of these being Margaret Maree, one of the founder birds, after so many months of intensive treatment for her, feels great.

Margaret Maree had her seventh and final CT scan at Veterinary Specialists Auckland to make sure she was healthy enough to return to Whenua Hou.

'I think we might open a bottle of champagne tomorrow night. Margaret Maree has been through so much but took it all in her own gentle way, and we're sure she will be over the moon to be back home on Whenua Hou.'

Pas said Margaret Maree was 'quite sick' when she first arrived in their care. She weighed just 1.12 kilograms, and is now weighing in at 1.71kg.

Margaret Maree is one of 12 kākāpō that were treated at Auckland Zoo for aspergillosis.

She had progressed well but it had taken a long time and treatment had been extensive.

A Veterinary Specialist Auckland vet nurse looks at the CT scan.

Nine kākāpō died as a result of the aspergillosis outbreak.

Auckland Zoo staff get Margaret Maree ready for the CT scan.

Resident vet Stefan Saverimuttu watches over the kākāpō.

Margaret Maree had to be sedated for the CT scan.

Senior veterinarian Dr An Pas, left, clinical coordinator Mikaylie Wilson and resident vet Stefan Saverimuttu.

Margaret Maree weighed just 1.12 kilograms when she arrived at Auckland Zoo. She now weighs 1.715kg.

Clinical coordinator Mikaylie Wilson with Margaret Maree.

A CT scan in November showed she had a single 1.7 millimetre diameter lesion remaining in one air sac.

As a result, all medications for her were stopped on Christmas Day.

Pas said the outbreak of aspergillosis was very rare in wild bird populations, had a high mortality rate, and was very hard to treat.

It hasn't been seen in kākāpō for about 30 years, she said.

Because of the mortality rate, Pas said zoo staff has been 'really surprised' at the amount of birds they had been able to save, working with the Department of Conservation's kākapō recovery team.

'It has required very, very intensive treatment, which in other species, we might not be able to do all that.'

As part of its conservation work, Pas said Auckland Zoo has been involved with helping kākāpō for 25 years.

'It's not just [about] going to the zoo and seeing exotic animals, we do a lot in conservation for the native animals in New Zealand.'

On September 17, the kākāpō population was boosted to the highest it had been in more than 70 years with 213 birds.

It came during the 2018/2019 breeding season when the youngest chick, known as Stella-3-B-2019, turned 150 days old and was officially added to the adult population.

According to DOC's website, there is now a total of 211.