With 55 kakapo chicks reaching 150 days old, the official population now stands at 252 birds, the highest tally since the 1970s.
The kakapo is a green, flightless nocturnal parrot endemic to New Zealand which has been devastated by the introduction of mammals.
Numbers dropped to a low of 51 birds in 1995, putting the much-loved species - considered a 'taonga', or treasure, by Ngai Tahu, the South Island Maori tribe - on the cusp of extinction.
A determined effort by the conservation department and Ngai Tahu has led a fightback.
"There is an all-hands-on-deck approach to saving kakapo," Conservation Minister Poto Williams said.
Recently, that has involved artificial insemination to boost the species' low fertility rate and irregular breeding pattern: the kakapo breed only every two to three years when the rimu tree fruits.
Many eggs are unviable.
This season, only 77 of the 141 eggs proved to be fertile, with fewer still surviving.
Every last bird is precious, hence conservationists cheering that nine of this year's chicks were produced with artificial insemination.
"Eight of these chicks are still alive, ensuring precious genetics are maintained in the population," Ms Williams said.
The kakapo are held and bred in predator-free environments around New Zealand, with a goal to re-establish a population on the deep south island of Rakiura, or Stewart Island, where they once roamed in healthy numbers.
"Our vision for kakapo is to grow their numbers and ensure they can live freely in a natural environment," Tane Davis, of Ngai Tahu, said.
New Zealanders are fond of the bumbling kakapo, twice voting it as bird of the year in a poll run by conservation group Forest and Bird.
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