Kakapo its specific epithet "habroptilus" comes from "habros" "soft", and "ptilon" "feather". The bird has so many unusual features that it was initially placed in its own tribe, Strigopini. Recent phylogenetic studies have confirmed the unique position of this genus as well as the closeness to the kākā and the kea, both belonging to the New Zealand parrot genus "Nestor". Together, they are now considered a separate superfamily within the parrots, Strigopoidea, the most basal of all living parrots. Within the Strigopoidea, the kakapo is placed in its own family, Strigopidae. The common ancestor of the kakapo and the genus "Nestor"
Kakapo released in New Zealand to reduce rabbit numbers, but they also preyed heavily on many native species including the kakapo. Other browsing animals, such as introduced deer, competed with the kakapo for food, and caused the extinction of some of its preferred plant species. The kakapo was reportedly still present near the head of the Whanganui River as late as 1894, with one of the last records of a kakapo in the North Island being a single bird caught in the Kaimanawa Ranges by Te Kepa Puawheawhe in 1895. In 1891, the New Zealand government set aside Resolution Island in