The Kakapo is a beautiful green parrot that has a very distinct face, with tiny feathers that look like whiskers. Of course, they are extremely unique birds, not only due to being the only flightless parrot in the world, but also, they are the heaviest species of parrot, they are nocturnal, and they are the longest living birds in the world. While this cute little green guy is a bird that you can only adopt or buy in Birdland, there is a reason behind having him in the game. They are actually the only species of flightless parrot in the world. Believe it
or not, but this native of New Zealand is just about extinct - and listed as critically endangered as of Feburary 2010. There are only 122 left in the world today (As of Feburary 2010) and most of these have been given their very own names by the Kakapo Recovery Group.
The Kakapo is also associated with a very unique and rich tradition in the Maori folklore and their beliefs. Since the bird's very irregular breeding cycle was thought to be associated with heavy fruiting events on plants like the Rimu, the Maori credited the Kakapo with having the ability to tell the future. The Maori also used observations of the Kakapo's habits to help them tell when hard times would fall on food and crops, as the birds would berries into secluded pools of water to help preserve them as
food for the summer. This habit also led to the Maori's practice of immersing food in water for preserving it as well.
Even though they are so unique and endangered, there have been many efforts made to preserve them and keep their species alive. The first conservation effort for the Kakapo started in 1890, when people realized that due to the new predators that were being introduced into their habitats, (including cats, rats, and stoats), and the fact that they were cut off from other birds similar to them
(mainly the Nestor). Those early conservation efforts did not do much good until the Kakapo Recovery Plan went into effect in the 1980s. Then, in January 2009, the remaining Kakapo were put onto two completely predator-free islands, the Anchor and Codfish islands, and are very closely monitored. While they are secluded on these two islands, two other islands, the Secretary and Resolution islands, have since become two areas of large-scale restoration activities to help prepare them for an ecosystem that will allow the Kakapo to live in the wild in a suitable habitat.
So, when you see the Kakapo pop up on your adopt feed or if it pops up for you to buy or share - make sure that you do so to help the organization keep them going. If you want to know more about the Kakapo, make sure that you check out the following pages:
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