Who's That Animal? #1 - The Kakapo

 Hey Jammers! Woooo~, it's been a stressful and confusing few days. Still, I wanna get a post out to y'all because this blog and everyone who reads it make me happy C:

Today we will begin... identifying and learning about the animals in the paintings at Gabby Wild's Animal Hospital!

Gabby Wild's Animal Hospital is one of the three locations where you can watch videos about wildlife, the other two being Dr. Brady Barr's Laboratory and Tierney Thys' Aquarium. 

Sarepia Theater also used to house a library of videos from Nat Geo, but since both Nat Geo and Animal Jam agreed to part ways a few years back, all that remains are a few instructional videos from AJHQ, along with the re-done version of the classic Geckos! video. And there's also Modern Major Kangaroo, but we don't talk about that here...

Hopefully there will come a time when new wildlife videos arrive in Sarepia Theater... but until then, we can take our popcorn to Brady Barr, Tierney Thys, or in the case of today, Gabby Wild! c:

So, originally I set out to write this as a basic kind of post, where I would just identify the different interesting animal species depicted in the paintings around Gabby Wild's Animal Hospital. 

However, I got really into researching and writing about this one bird. I believe all of the animals deserve that kind of spotlight, so this will be a series of posts! We'll go in-depth and learn about each of these animals that you might normally just pass by, one post at a time. 

AND! Because many of these animals are endangered, I'll provide links to places where, if you're able to, you can donate towards their conservation.

Let's begin!

This is a kind of parrot, as you might suspect. But this isn't just any parrot...

Photo credit to Joel Sartore, Nat Geo Photo Ark

This is the incredibly unique bundle of joy and wonder known as the kākāpō!  

They are very large and curious birds with strong legs and flightless wings. Their mottled yellow-green feathers match the vibrant mosses of their island homes tucked away off the coast of New Zealand. While they have a diverse diet of plants, fruit, seeds, pollen, and sapwood, the kākāpō have been observed to especially enjoy the fruit of the rimu tree. 

And for some reason, kākāpō naturally smell like honey, and can live up to 100 years!!!

Through history, they have also been observed to preserve certain fruits by dropping them into small pools of water and keeping them there for the summer– a practice which is said to have taught the native people of New Zealand to do the same thing.

While this bird is beautiful and sweet, the story of the kākāpō is riddled with pain. Ever since humans arrived on their islands, they have been relentlessly hunted and targeted, with the vast majority of their homes being destroyed by human agriculture. 

Kākāpō used to live throughout New Zealand, but are now completely extinct on the mainland. The very few 206 who remain alive are currently doing their best to survive, hidden away in the leaves of only three small islands. 

♥ Increased conservation efforts have been essential in supporting the gradual recovery of the kākāpō. If you wish to support the kākāpō, you can donate towards their conservation here. 

(That link goes to the official Kākāpō Recovery Program donate page at globalwildlife.org)

I bet you didn't think that fuzzy little painting had that kind of story behind it, right? 

I think I've written about the kākāpō here before, but I wanted to mention them again because they're the animal who inspired this series to begin with. 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Over time, I'll be coming out with at least eight more in this series, as that's the amount of animal paintings you can find in Gabby Wild's Animal Hospital. Not all at once, of course– I'll be breaking them up with other topics like the ones I mentioned in the previous post.

See you in Jamaa!

P.S. Big thanks to Dogo for making the borders of my signature transparent!