An important breeding kakapo who had the misfortune of injuring her "private parts" when she unintentionally sat on a sharp stick, has been successfully rehabilitated at Auckland Zoo, and is to return to her home on Codfish Island.

A Department of Conservation (DOC) National Kakapo Team member discovered Sarah and her predicament in late October when he tramped out to her Whetu Track home to do a routine check-up on her. She was urgently flown to Auckland to be treated by the vet team at the zoo's New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine (NZCCM) - the provider of veterinary services for the kakapo recovery programme.

"Sarah was in a potentially life-threatening state when she arrived. She had a nasty wound to her cloaca and had lost a lot of weight through not being able to forage," says vet, Dr John Potter.

"She's responded exceptionally well to treatment and has proven to be a quick healer. She's also been self-feeding on kumara, apple, nikau berries and other native plants, which has meant that we've been able to keep tube feeding her with high-protein parrot formula to a minimum. Kakapo don't generally self-feed in a captive situation, so that's been especially pleasing. By nature, Sarah is a very feisty bird, and I think this has also contributed to her fast recovery. Since arriving she has put on over 170 grams, and now weighs over 1140 grams," says Dr Potter.

Programme manager for the National Kakapo Team, Deidre Vercoe, says while Sarah is unlikely to breed this coming season due her needing time to recover from this recent accident, she is a good breeder and is likely to breed again in the future.

Sarah, who is being flown home tomorrow morning, is one of the original founder kakapo birds from Stewart Island. Discovered there in 1989 and relocated to Codfish Island, she has produced two offspring in the past six years - six-year-old male Ariki, and three-year-old female, Pounamu.

The total kakapo population is currently 90 birds, but Ms Vercoe says that with the bumper breeding season expected this coming summer, due to the heavy fruiting of rimu trees, that figure is likely to rise.

Ms Vercoe, along with a team of kakapo experts from around the country including zoo vets, has been at Auckland Zoo this week for a kakapo disease risk-assessment workshop in preparation for the coming season.

While DOC already has stringent protocols in place, this is serving as a review, and to assess if any further measures need to be implemented.