Parrot’s Love Affair

Sirocco the kakapo has caused a stir in cyber space after he was captured on camera mating with the head of a British zoologist. The footage, which has received more than half a million hits on YouTube, was part of a BBC Two programme, Last Chance to See, in which Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine travel the world in search of animals on the edge of extinction. Sirocco was hand reared and as a result is very relaxed with humans. He is used as an advocate for his species and has most recently been at Auckland Zoo where people could get up close and personal with him. But zoologist Carwadine got more personal with Sirocco than expected when he encountered him with Fry. Sirocco is one of only 124 kakapo in the world.