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Name: Sirocco (he was named after the hot desert wind of North Africa, continuing a theme of wind-related names – his mother's name is Zephyr)
Hatch date: 23 March 1997 (scientists believe kākāpō can live for around 60 years)
Sex: male (although he has not shown any interest in mating with female kākāpō yet)
Favourite food: special parrot pellets, corn, carrots, broccoli, kumara and macadamia nuts (kākāpō are vegetarians and eat the leaves and fruit of native trees)
The kākāpō who thinks he's human
Sirocco had an uncertain start to life, suffering a respiratory illness at three weeks old while being reared by his mother, Zephyr. Subsequently, he became the first male kākāpō to be hand reared.
Sirocco was eventually deemed fit and ready to survive in the wild. He was released to roam the island, but the call of the wild wasn’t so loud for Sirocco. His intensive hand-rearing and lack of kākāpō company had led him to imprint on humans. He was more interested in us than his own kind and was unlikely to breed.
A natural advocate
We realised that Sirocco's interest in people made him an ideal kākāpō ambassador, able to travel and meet people as no other kākāpō could.
Between 2005-2015 Sirocco would occasionally visit sanctuary sites around the country for public viewings. Thousands of people were delighted to have the chance to meet a kākāpō on mainland New Zealand.
Sirocco no longer makes public appearances, preferring to live his life in the wild, safe on a predator-free island in Fiordland.
Global fame
Sirocco rocketed to fame in 2009 after his encounter with zoologist Mark Carwardine became a YouTube sensation. Carwardine was filming the BBC documentary Last Chance to See with British actor Stephen Fry. Footage showed a rather frisky Sirocco attempting to mate with Carwardine’s head as Fry laughed from the sidelines.
The below YouTube clip of Sirocco getting ‘up close and personal’ with presenter Mark Cawardine has had over 30 million views.
Spokesbird for conservation
In 2010, Prime Minister John Key launched New Zealand’s involvement in the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 and named Sirocco the "Official Spokesbird for Conservation".
He commented on Sirocco's "worldwide fan base" who "hang on every squawk that comes out of his beak" and said Sirocco would focus attention on the plight of endangered species.
Transmitter failure
During 2016, Sirocco’s transmitter failed. Five percent of kākāpō transmitters fail annually, and it often takes several years for a bird to be located. Fortunately, we found Sirocco safe and sound in 2018.