Escalating cases of 'crusty butt' virus affecting Southland kakapo

Wednesday, 25 January 2017

Crusty butt has been present in the population of kakapo on Codfish Island since 2002 and there have been 26 confirmed cases.

Cases of an infection – dubbed 'crusty butt' – which is affecting kakapo are escalating, while the cause of the virus remains undetermined.

Department of Conservation (DOC) science adviser for kakapo and takahe Andrew Digby said several kakapo had been affected by an inflamed cloaca, or 'crusty butt' as the rangers have come to call it.

Birds do not have an anus, instead they have cloaca from which they discharge urine and faeces.

The virus has been present in the population of kakapo on Codfish Island, west of Stewart Island, since 2002 and there had been 26 confirmed cases, Digby said.

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'It's like a dermatitis, that's as much as we know,' he said.

If left untreated the infection could prove fatal and Digby said DOC understood there had been one death from it.

There had been an escalation of cases over the last few years, but that could be due to the fact rangers were looking harder, Digby said.

Normally rangers head to Codfish once a year to check the birds and swap batteries in transmitters, but this year they will check every bird on the island four times to monitor the situation.

A couple of chicks born during the 2016 breeding season showed signs of having the infection, Digby said.

The bird population on Anchor Island in Dusky Sound would also be checked.

There are 154 kakapo living in three different populations.

Digby said testing on fecal samples from the parrots revealed no consistent link to any known virus.

The kakapo team has had some success in treating the condition with a topical cream, which worked better for some birds than others, he said.

Unsure if the virus was contagious, DOC were treating it as such.

One side of Codfish Island would be treated with strict hygiene controls and the other side without the controls to see if the condition was spread through contact, Digby said.