Kakapo puke sparks bidding war

Sirocco the Kakapo first shot to international fame after getting frisky with British celebrity Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwadine in the acclaimed TV series Last Chance to See in 2009.

Sirocco found Carwadine's hair inexplicably attractive, prompting Fry to exclaim: "You are being shagged by a rare parrot!"

Recently, and somewhat bizarrely, bidders on Trade Me clamoured to buy a unique piece of Sirocco-related history - his rejected 'pine chews' being sold on the popular online auction site. The 'parrot puke' eventually fetched $400!

The posting stated: "Not to be found anywhere else on the Mainland - this is a truly unique item. Impress your friends. Perturb your mother in law. Made of tenderly masticated pine needle and infused with the saliva of an extremely rare native parrot - and not just any old rare native parrot but Sirocco the famous head shagging parrot!"

Well, there you go. It was all for a good cause though - the money will be used to fund kakapo recovery.

Last Chance to See on ABC TV

For the next few Sunday evenings the excellent 'Last Chance to See' series starring Stephen Fry and naturalist Mark Carwardine is airing in Australia.

The pair go in search of some of the most endangered animals on the planet.

Last Chance to See originally started as a radio program and book from Carwardine and author Douglas Adams back in 1990. Twenty years on, and after the death of Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry and Carwardine retrace the vision of the original journey.

It's a brilliant combination of Stephen Fry's wicked humour with some of the planet's most incredible animals. Fry and Carwardine travel to several biodiversity hotspots to see animals such as the Amazonian Manatee, the Aye-Aye and the white Rhino.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/lastchancetosee.htm