Great Hihi Sperm Race aims to make native bird conservation sexy
Wednesday, 28 March 2018
Scientists working to save the rare hihi, or stitchbird, have devised a risque global competition to raise funds for its conservation.
Punters can head to a website and place their bets on which bird they think has the strongest, fastest 'swimmers'.
The competition is based on data from more than 100 real-life male birds from four populations across New Zealand's North Island.
Lead researcher, Otago University's Helen Taylor, said the idea for the Great Hihi Sperm Race arose from a conversation around a camp fire after a day of field work.
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'We were going to bet on them for our own amusement but realised that getting people around the world to take a punt on hihi sperm could help raise funds.'
To collect the data, she and her team tested the sperm from hihi on Tiritiri Matangi Island, Little Barrier Island, Bushy Park sanctuary near Whanganui and Zealandia sanctuary in Wellington, over the 2017 and 2018 breeding season.
'I collected sperm swimming speed data from 128 male hihi and now we're asking people to bet on which bird they think has the fastest sperm.
'You have to get creative to raise conservation funding these days, and we're hoping this campaign is just weird enough to work.'
To help punters get to know who they are betting on, Taylor included helpful tongue-in-cheek descriptions of the birds.
Some suggest physical attributes and prowess while others talk of the male bird's history with the ladies.
For example, one hihi was apparently raising five chicks with his female, 'but are they all his?'
Another description states one individual has been 'a favourite with the ladies for several years now – knows his way around'.
Taylor explained, 'hihi live in a very competitive little world. With few females to mate with, males need strong, fast sperm to ensure they win any race to inseminate a female who may have had several suitors.'
Hihi are a yellow and black bird that was widespread throughout the North Island until humans arrived. Introduced predators and habitat destruction reduced the hihi numbers down to just one population on Hauturu (Little Barrier Island) by the 1880s.
'People are pretty familiar with birds like kiwi, kākāpō, and takahē, but hihi are just as special and just as unique to New Zealand. They're cheeky little birds with a tonne of personality and some seriously good looking sperm – we'd like them to be a bit more loved by the public.'
She said when populations became too small, inbreeding becomes unavoidable and can cause issues with male fertility.
'Given their history, it's important to understand whether male hihi are firing blanks or producing the speedy swimmers the species needs to survive.'
Those wanting to place bets can head to the website. Bets cost $10 and punters can bet on as many birds as they like.
Whoever chooses the fastest bird is in to win a bunch of hihi-themed prizes and all the money goes directly to hihi conservation.
More information can be found on Taylor's blog.