國際時事跟讀VIP Ep. L203: 沉寂四年，世界最胖鸚鵡鳴聲再起 The World's Fattest Parrot Finally Finds Its Voice

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國際時事跟讀VIP Ep. L203: The World's Fattest Parrot Finally Finds Its Voice

Highlights 主題摘要

• New Zealand's kākāpō — the world's only flightless, nocturnal parrot — is breeding for the first time in four years.
• Breeding depends entirely on rimu tree masting; 2026's record-high fruiting rates of 50%-60% have triggered the most active season yet.
• With 59 chicks already hatched and rewilding plans advancing, conservationists are shifting from managing survival to building true self-sufficiency.

On three remote islands at New Zealand's southern tip, something remarkable stirred in early 2026. After four years of silence, male kākāpō — the world's only flightless, nocturnal parrot — began excavating their elaborate "track and bowl" courtship systems into the forest floor, then flooding the night air with deep, resonant booming calls designed to carry for kilometres. For conservationists who have spent decades coaxing this species back from the brink, that sound was nothing short of a revival anthem. With just 236 individuals alive worldwide, every breeding season is, quite literally, a matter of survival.

二○二六年初，紐西蘭最南端的三座偏遠島嶼上，沉寂四年的嗡鳴聲再度響起。雄性鴞鸚鵡是全球唯一不會飛行的夜行性鸚鵡，牠們重新開始在林地挖掘求偶用的「軌道與碗狀凹槽」，並在夜間發出低沉的共鳴叫聲，聲音可傳遞數公里遠。對於數十年來投入復育工作的保育人員而言，這聲音意義非凡。全球現存僅236隻，每一個繁殖季，都是攸關物種存亡的決戰時刻。

The kākāpō cannot simply decide to breed. Its reproductive cycle is held hostage by the rimu tree, a native New Zealand conifer whose mass fruiting events — known as masting — occur only every two to four years. When rimu trees produce an abundance of their red berries, the nutritional windfall triggers the hormonal conditions kākāpō need to reproduce; in lean years, they simply abstain. In early 2026, monitoring across all three breeding islands confirmed fruiting rates at a record 50 to 60 percent — the highest ever documented.

鴞鸚鵡的繁殖時機並非自主決定，而是由紐西蘭原生針葉樹芮木（rimu）的結果狀況所左右。芮木每隔兩至四年才會出現一次大量結果的「豐收年」（masting），漿果充足時，鴞鸚鵡才具備繁殖所需的生理條件，並啟動繁殖本能；若遇歉收年，牠們則會完全放棄繁殖。二○二六年初，三座育種島嶼的監測資料顯示，結果率達到百分之五十至六十，創下有記錄以來的最高水準。

With 83 breeding-age females and near-ideal food conditions, the Department of Conservation declared 2026 a potential turning point — not just in numbers, but in philosophy. For decades, the recovery programme relied on intensive hands-on management: collecting eggs for incubation, hand-rearing chicks, supplementary feeding. This season, however, the team deliberately stepped back — leaving more eggs in natural nests, reducing nest checks, cutting supplementary food. The shift signals a consequential ambition: to eventually produce kākāpō populations capable of sustaining themselves, trading short-term control for long-term resilience.

目前有83隻達到繁殖年齡的雌鳥，加上近乎理想的食物條件，紐西蘭保育部表示，二○二六年可能是這項計畫三十年來的重要轉捩點，意義不只在數量，更在於保育思維的轉變。過去幾十年，復育計畫高度仰賴人工干預：蒐集鳥蛋送進孵化器、人工育雛、額外補充飼料。但這一季，團隊刻意減少介入，讓更多蛋留在自然巢中孵化，並降低對巢穴的干擾與人工餵食的頻率。這個轉變傳遞出深遠的企圖心，要培育出有能力自我維繫的鴞鸚鵡族群，以長遠的韌性替代短期的掌控。

The results exceeded even cautious expectations. By March, 59 healthy chicks had hatched — approaching the 2019 record of 73, and already among the most productive seasons in the programme's 30-year history. Conservationists are also pressing ahead with plans to eradicate invasive predators from Rakiura, where kākāpō once flourished before rats and feral cats eliminated them. Should that project succeed, it would unlock vastly more habitat than the current island sanctuaries can offer — and bring this improbable bird one credible step closer to a self-sustaining future.

最終的成果超出了保守的預期。截至三月，已有59隻健康雛鳥孵化，逼近2019年創下的73隻紀錄，並已躋身整個三十年保育計畫中最豐收的繁殖季之一。與此同時，保育人員也積極推動拉基烏拉（Rakiura，即史都華島）的掠食性外來種根除計畫。鴞鸚鵡曾在當地繁衍生息，後因鼠類與野貓入侵而絕跡。若根除計畫成功，可供鴞鸚鵡利用的棲地將遠超現有三座島嶼保護區的規模，為物種的長期自立提供更穩固的基礎。

Keyword Drills 關鍵字

1. Back from the brink [idiom, to recover from a point very close to extinction or total failure]: Conservation work helped bring the species back from the brink.
2. Abstain [verb, to deliberately choose not to do something one would normally do]: The birds abstain from breeding when food is scarce.
3. Masting [noun, a natural event in which trees produce an unusually large crop of seeds or fruit]: A masting year gives wildlife an unexpected boost of food.
4. Press ahead [verb phrase, to continue with a plan in a determined way despite difficulties]: The team pressed ahead despite the harsh weather conditions.
5. Eradicate [verb, to completely eliminate something harmful or unwanted]: It took years of effort to eradicate rats from the island.

Reference article:
1. https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2026-media-releases/kakapo-breeding-season-officially-underway/
2. https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/rare-nocturnal-parrots-in-new-zealand-are-breeding-for-the-first-time-in-4-years-heres-why
3. https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/03/critically-endangered-kakapo-parrot-has-standout-breeding-season/
4. https://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/new-zealands-rare-flightless-parrot-begins-breeding-again/news-story/eae8613ad02840f555ddd5d044eee043
5. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260109-new-zealand-s-rare-flightless-parrot-begins-breeding-again
6. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/13/nz-kakapo-mating-season