Last Call

Before humans arrived, Kākāpō were widespread throughout New Zealand, but began to decline precipitously after Polynesians, and then Europeans, moved to the islands 700 years ago.

These nearly defenseless birds were easily hunted by the newly-arrived humans and their dogs, and also by rats that stowed away on their ships. By early in the 20th century, the Kākāpō had virtually disappeared from the two large islands of New Zealand, and few of the remaining birds were females critical to producing and raising new Kākāpō.

Efforts to save the Kākāpō began as early as the 1890s, mainly by translocating birds to isolated patches of forest thought to be safe. But introduced predators were able to reach these “safe” locations, and populations continued to decline.

By the middle of the 20th century, Kākāpō could not be found on the two main islands of New Zealand, and the only remaining birds were found on nearby Stewart Island. Feral cats on that island continued to decimate the Kākāpō there. In the mid-1990s, the last remaining 65 birds (only 22 of them females) were removed from Stewart Island and relocated to four nearby, predator-free oceanic islands. Thanks to intensive management of predators and breeding habitat, including supplemental feeding of female Kākāpō to improve their body condition, Kākāpō numbers increased on some of these islands. Supplemental feeding had to be done with care, though, as females in very good condition tend to produce mainly sons and few daughters. Kākāpō numbers continued to increase into the 21st century, reaching over 250 birds by 2023, when a small handful of birds were reintroduced to the South Island of New Zealand in a fenced, predator-free sanctuary. After an absence of nearly a century, Kākāpō had returned to their native land.

The Kākāpō is without a doubt one of the most unusual birds on the planet.

Endemic to New Zealand and having evolved with few predators, these odd parrots are totally flightless, ground-dwelling, and nocturnal. Males have a booming call that they use to attract females for mating, but females raise the young alone with no assistance from the males.