
Scientists want to sequence the genome of all living kakapo parrots - HandleTheJandal
http://sites.duke.edu/dukeresearch/2016/02/15/a-dead-parrot-not-yet-but-it-could-sure-use-your-help/
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faitswulff
I didn't see the link in the article, but this seems to be the crowdfunding
project to sequence all remaining kakapo:

[https://www.geneticrescue.science/projects/genome-
sequencing...](https://www.geneticrescue.science/projects/genome-
sequencing/kakapo)

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dluan
Direct link here: [https://experiment.com/projects/sequencing-the-genomes-of-
al...](https://experiment.com/projects/sequencing-the-genomes-of-all-known-
kakapo)

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bluedevil2k
Duke has $4B in their trust, they can't foot the $45,000 for this? (Duke grad)

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seeingfurther
I thought the same thing too. Although the trust might be set aside for
specific purposes, of which funding research is outside the scope? My best
guess.

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MrBlue
I'll be on Codfish Island volunteering in about a month. Looking forward to do
my part to help this amazing parrot.

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pvaldes
I'll love to hear about your experience when you return.

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MrBlue
Will do! Please send me your contact info.

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yareally
Any chance of just posting it as an article submitted to hn? I'd love to hear
about it as well (amateur ornithologist).

If not, my email is in my profile.

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pvaldes
Spoiler: No Perl6 here :-), this is about genetics of the endangered and
terrestrial Kakapo parrot. A very interesting project.

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junto
I assume that the title is a hat tip to Monty Python's famous "Dead Parrot"
sketch:

[https://youtube.com/watch?v=4vuW6tQ0218](https://youtube.com/watch?v=4vuW6tQ0218)

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JoeAltmaier
No wonder he's endangered: he attempts to mate with the photographer.

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dogma1138
I've laughed quite hard about that too, couldn't help but wonder:

A) Is this is the reason why are the going extinct.

and

B) If that green shirt was probably not the best choice of color for the
occasion.

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yareally
> Is this is the reason why are the going extinct.

Nope. Have you seen animals in heat? They do crazy things like that and us
being humans, anthropomorphize their behaviors to be something they aren't. No
one claims kangaroos are in danger of extinction (they're far from it) when
one of them tries to mate with another that's already dead[1].

The decline of most endangered species in NZ can be summed up in 2 primary
reasons:

1) Humans. Some species being hunted to extinction instead of a sustainable
level.

2) The animals humans brought with them. Feral cats and rats being the two
main culprits.

There were no mammals on NZ before humans brought them and birds were the
dominant species. Thus, there was little reason for many of them, such as this
bird and the kiwi to fly. Now, both are in danger of extinction because their
evolutionary paths never accounted for such predators.

[1] [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-
australia-35308161](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35308161)

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dogma1138
I know it was in jest :) The settlement of NZ also introduced allot of natural
predators which pushed allot of species to near extinction / extinction on the
mainland, they've been using the Islands as natural reserves and introducing
as many species to them as possible as they were note polluted with predators.

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yareally
Ah yeah, I read something about they're trying to use "deodorant" for kiwis to
stop predators from sniffing them out. Interesting stuff though and not sure
what came of it, since it was last reported 5 or so years ago.

