Wild Sounds: Kākāpō Files II

Keeping Scott Base warm and well-lit no matter the weather outside, and a physics experiment that eavesdrops on messages to submarines. This series was first released on 11 June 2020. To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Flags to physics Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Alison Ballance has her first day at New Zealand's Antarctic station, Scott Base, and visits the historic Hillary's Hut. This episode was first released on 4 June 2020. To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Scott Base Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Alison Ballance dons her extreme cold weather clothing for a trip to Antarctica - but getting to the frozen continent can take time. This episode was first released on 28 May 2020. To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Ice Flight Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Alison Ballance finds out what it takes to live in and do science in Antarctica, in a podcast series recorded on the frozen continent in November 2019. This series was first released in 2020. To see images and read more about the series, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In the series finale, Hope, we get a glimpse of what a predator-free Aotearoa could look like, and look at the breakthrough technologies and innovations taking us towards that goal. This episode was first released on 31 May 2021. Watch the video version of the episode here . The final podcast in the series, What's in it for us?, counts both the costs and benefits of Predator Free. It explores...

Community-led projects are leading the charge to halt biodiversity decline, while researchers make break-throughs in their quest to remove predators and protect borders from reinvasion. This episode was first released on 24 May 2021. Watch the video version of the episode here . Episode Three explores the deep relationship between Māori and the natural world. Predator Free 2050 and Māori looks at...

New Zealander's have drawn a line in the sand, announcing they will rid the nation of rats, stoats and possums by 2050, but what will it take to get there? This episode was first released on 17 May 2021. Watch the video version of the episode here . Remove and Protect reveals what Aotearoa means to do about the losing battle for our wildlife. It sets out the critical distinction between business-a...

Loss looks at the devastating effect introduced mammals have had on New Zealand's unique wildlife. This episode was first released on 10 May 2021. Watch the video version of the episode here . Dealing with Loss takes listeners back to Gondwana, to explore just why our native birds are so tragically vulnerable to predation by mammals from another hemisphere. Host Dave Hansford then presents a serie...

Takes you into the wild heart of Aotearoa, documenting the desperate battle to protect it and exploring the notion of Predator Free 2050. This series was first released in May 2021. Watch the video trailer here Fight for the Wild is a four-part video series that takes viewers into the wild heart of Aotearoa and documents the desperate battle to protect it. It explores the notion of Predator Free 2...

Encounters with blue ice and wildlife prove to be life-changing adventures, when photographer Joseph Michael and his companions venture into the crevasse field of a giant glacier, to capture the blue heart of an Antarctic iceberg. This episode was first released on 27 February 2017. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Joseph Michael and his film-making companions come face-to-face with the heaving splendour of giant icebergs in the waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. Back in New Zealand, they grapple with how to projection map an 'urban iceberg' onto the exterior of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and how to create a soundscape that blends music with the voices of the icebergs. This episode was first relea...

The varied sounds and characters of icebergs begin to reveal themselves to a watching team of film-makers. A small iceberg, Yoko, that fizzes and crackles like a soda drink. The dramatic demise of the soaring ice arch, Valentine. This episode was first released on 27 February 2017. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Artist Joseph Michael and a team of eight film-makers head to Antarctica on the yacht Australis, to discover and record the sights and sounds of icebergs. But before they reach the frozen continent and encounter their first bergs they must face the challenge of the notorious Drake Passage. This episode was first released on 27 February 2017. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The next series to join the Wild Sounds feed is Voice of the Iceberg, first published in 2017. Artist Joseph Michael and his team record the characters and sounds of icebergs in Antarctica as he prepares for a major art installation. This series was first releas in 2017. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The 2019 kākāpō chicks are becoming independent and birds sent to be scanned for aspergillosis are getting clean bills of health. This episode was first released on 19 March 2020. The 2019 kākāpō breeding season successfully weathered the aspergillosis crisis, with 72 chicks reaching the milestone of 150 days. Seventy of those juveniles are still alive, although two juveniles subsequently died fro...

A deadly fungal disease strikes the kākāpō population on Whenua Hou and the Kākāpō Recovery team calls on New Zealand wildlife vets to help. This episode was first released on 17 March 2020. In April 2019, disaster struck the kākāpō population. There was an outbreak of the deadly fungal disease aspergillosis, which would eventually kill two adult females and seven chicks. But against expectations,...

The kākāpō eggs are hatching, and chicks are being hand-reared or returned to their mother's nest... but not every chick is thriving. This episode was first released on 12 March 2020. The 2019 kākāpō breeding season set many records. It was the earliest, the longest - and of course, the biggest breeding season ever recorded. Two hundred and fifty two kākāpō eggs were laid over three months, starti...

The tally of infertile eggs is climbing and the kākāpō team is using artificial insemination - and a drone - to try and counter the problem. This episode was first released on 10 March 2020. The 2019 kākāpō breeding season was one for the record books, but it had more than its fair share of problems, including the fact that more than half of the eggs laid were infertile. It's an ongoing issue...

Most of the female kākāpō have bred and the team is carrying precious fertile eggs to the 'egg room' for incubation. Meanwhile, on Anchor Island, the rain is falling. This episode was first released on 5 March 2020. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kākāpō breeding is in full swing after an early start, and DOC's Deidre Vercoe and Andrew Digby are checking to see if eggs are fertile. This episode was first released on 3 March 2020. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The kākāpō team know all the signs are good for a big kākāpō breeding season - the question is exactly how big and when will it start? This episode was first released on 27 February 2020. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The kākāpō is a giant flightless parrot whose fortunes are tied to the rimu tree and to a dedicated team of rangers from the Department of Conservation. This episode was first released on 25 February 2020. The kākāpō, or night parrot, is one of the world's most unusual birds. It's a giant flightless parrot whose fortunes are tied to the rimu tree and to a dedicated team of kākāpō rangers...

Claire Concannon introduces you to the next series from Wild Sounds. Hosted by Alison Ballance, hear the adventure through the bumpy bumper 2019 breeding season of NZ's rare flightless parrot. This series was first released in 2020. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kate Evans visits a passionate team as they carpet a remote volcanic island in Tonga with poisoned bait, hoping to eradicate rats. What does it take to complete this kind of project, what are the chances of success, and what will it mean for the island's ecosystems if they manage to remove the rats once and for all? This episode was first released on 18 April 2024. Rat eradication from islands is...

Journalist Rebekah White meets two people who have been counting albatrosses on remote islands in the subantarctic for more than three decades. Their research shows that at least one species is en route to extinction. A few changes to the way we fish could save it. This episode was first released on 11 April 2024. Gibson's and Antipodean albatrosses are citizens of no one nation. They are oce...