green-ferns-in-NZ-native-forest

Kakapo
Society

Getting Up Close and Personal with the Kakapo

What makes the Kakapo so unique?

  • Its a parrot that looks like an owl, or a giant budgie
  • It "skraaks" loudly like other parrots but you might mistake it for a donkey, a grunting or squealing pig
  • It produces a nasal metallic noise called "chinging"
  • It is nocturnal and can be found feeding on the ground or 20m up a rimu tree
  • It walks and jumps and is a good climber
  • It cannot fly, although it has large wings
  • It has a very noticeable, musty odour
  • And there's the way it looks and behaves..
    • Dunedin Wildlife Hospital (2020, July 24). Kakapo: Crazy Moss Chickens [Video] Youtube.
    https://youtu.be/fBnjniCVGNg

The Kakapo is very large, and it has speckled moss-green body feathers that provide perfect camouflage in New Zealand's native forest. It has soft feathers, and its scientific name is - Strigops habroptila.

Getting closer to the Kakapo will reveal a thick, musty smell.
The strong odour alerts dogs, cats and other predators to the bird's presence and was a primary cause of the Kakapo's rapid decline.

People are very fond of the un- birdlike behaviour of this very endangered parrot. Its waddling walk, curiosity, wide range of calls, and amusing behaviour meant that the Kakapo was sometimes kept as a pet by early settlers.