Once there were rumblings that Kekua might not exist, ESPN was chasing that story but, after an internal debate, the network held off while trying to get an interview with Te'o, according to The New York Times.
They and 16 other young birds had just been transferred from the kakapo stronghold of Codfish Island (Whenua Hou), an island right at the bottom of New Zealand, to Chalky Island (Te Kakahu) in Fiordland.