Kakapo

Kakapo encounter (Ulva Island, predator free island sanctuary off Stewart Island). By Kathy Brader.
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Kakapos are fascinating birds from New Zealand: they're big, green, nocturnal and the only species of flightless parrot in the world. Although they are excellent tree climbers, they spend most of their time on the ground. In fact, when it comes time to lay their eggs, kakapo will nest on the forest floor under cover of plants or within the hollows of old tree trunks. Mother kakapo must be very vigilant in protecting their nests-- the eggs are a favourite source of food for mammals introduced to New Zealand by humans, such as cats, dogs and weasels. Here, a kakapo incubates a clutch of eggs. These unhatched kakapo may be very important to the survival of this intriguing species of bird-- as of February 2012, there were only 126 known individual kakapo still living in the wild. These critically endangered birds are now protected by the New Zealand government through the Kakapo Recovery programme, which has so far been quite successful in increasing the numbers of these incredible parrots. See more videos of endangered wildlife at www.earthrangers.com
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