Kakapo the reason for its massive decline since the introduction of dogs, cats and mustelids (see "Conservation: Human impact"). The kakapo is the only species of flightless parrot in the world, and the only flightless bird that has a lek breeding system. Males loosely gather in an arena and compete with each other to attract females. Females listen to the males as they display, or "lek". They choose a mate based on the quality of his display; they are not pursued by the males in any overt way. No pair bond is formed; males and females meet only to mate. During
Kakapo flax fibre to create cloaks and capes. Each one required up to 11,000 feathers to make. Not only were these garments considered very beautiful, they also kept the wearer very warm. They were highly valued, and the few still in existence today are considered "taonga" (treasures) – indeed, the old Māori adage "You have a kākāpō cape and you still complain of the cold" was used to describe someone who is never satisfied. Kakapo feathers were also used to decorate the heads of taiaha, but were removed before use in combat. Despite this, the kakapo was also regarded as an