What the kakapo lacks in numbers ... around in relative safety – the only significant threat came from birds of prey circling in the sky above. The early settlers “ate the kakapo, used ...

Meet the kakapo—a chunky, moss-green parrot that looks like it waddled out of a fantasy novel and forgot how to fly. This New Zealand native carries one of the bird world's most tragic and oddly ...

The kakapo's relationship with humans has long been troubled. When Polynesian settlers arrived in New Zealand around 700 years ago, they hunted it extensively, no doubt because it was easy prey.

The kakapo was once abundant throughout New Zealand ... “If the bird only knew its powers, it wouldn’t fall such an easy prey to stoats [a kind of weasel] and ferrets,” Douglas wrote in ...

A critically endangered Kakapo parrot on Codfish Island in New ... while a pelican’s pouch-like beak allows it to net up aquatic prey and gulp it down whole. And birds don’t just fly around ...

(Quote box) "There were just 86 kakapo when I first started working as a kakapo ranger in 2002. That number was scary. Having a breeding season with 55 chicks feels like a very positive step." ...

But that's how volunteers looking after the nests of New Zealand's kakapo have spent two weeks of their summer holidays this year. The critically endangered kakapo - fat, green, musty-smelling ...

WELLINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The population of New Zealand's kakapo, an endangered flightless parrot, has increased 25% in the last year to 252 birds following a good breeding season and success ...