Kakapo - Endangered Species

The New Zealand Kakapo is a critically endangered species.  The Kakapo species was extremely abundant when there were no mammalian predators on New Zealand.  As Polynesians began to arrive thousands of years ago and the Europeans in the 1800's, the Kakapo's population began to decline.  Along with people came animals that now were hunting the Kakapo.  Because they lived for so long with no predators, the Kakapo do not have much of any defense mechanism.  They are flightless birds and nest on the ground, therefore they are an easy target for predators.  Today, there are less than 100 Kakapos left.  For conservation, they have funded research to learn more about the Kakapo and their breeding and nesting habits.  They have all been relocated to predator free islands where they are continuing to breed.  Along with low numbers of Kakapo, they only breed every 3-5 years when the mast is heavy.  Researchers have been trying to find other way to feed them or increase mast so they can breed more often.