Scientists are getting creative to save the kakapo

The chart lists every breeding female kakapo on the planet—50 of them, with names like Pearl, Marama, and Hoki—and the status of their eggs: smiley faces for fertile eggs, straight lines for infertile ones, wings and legs for hatched chicks, and Xs for those that have died. In the hopes of more smiley faces getting wings and fewer getting Xs, a team of scientists, rangers, and volunteers are working around the clock during the current breeding season, using 3D-printed smart eggs, activity trackers, and a sperm-toting drone nicknamed the “cloaca courier” to turn a record breeding year into a repopulation milestone and help this beloved bird step back from the brink. Kakapo were once widespread in New Zealand, but the rats, cats, and stoats that humans brought with them to the islands devoured the flightless birds, their chicks, and their eggs.

Source: www.nationalgeographic.com