Kakapo wins New Zealand’s Bird Of The Year contest amid voter fraud scandal

Forest and Bird’s Facebook page announced a big, green, flightless, nocturnal parrot, Kakapo as the winner of the Bird Of The Year contest 2020. However, all was not fun and games in the election campaign. Kakapo regained its title for the second time amidst a voter fraud scandal. It seems like bird politics aren’t as chirpy as they seem, pun intended.

On November 10, the Forest and Bird organization released a statement declaring that they ‘spotted’ 1500 fraudulent votes for the kiwi pukupuku. Laura Keown spokesperson for Bird of the Year said, “It’s lucky we spotted this little kiwi trying to sneak in an extra 1500 votes under the cover of darkness”. She further stated that the kiwi pukupuku would have to play by the rules like all the other birds to win the competition.

Hence, after discounting the illegitimate votes, Kakapo, also known as the owl parrot, came on top. On November 16, the Forest and Bird’s Facebook page shared a post comprising the image of the bird alongside with celebratory text. It read, “Congratulations to the Kakapo – Winner of #BirdOfTheYear 2020 and the first bird to win twice. They are a green, flightless, nocturnal parrot”.

Check out the post which has accumulated over 150 reactions and many comments down below:

Here is what Facebook users had to say about the share. One person said, “Beautiful photo”.

Another individual wrote, “My favourite bird”. “Beautiful colour,” read one comment under the share.

What are your thoughts on this post?

Also Read | ‘Smiling’ shark to ‘dancing’ bird, these funny wildlife pictures will brighten up your day