Kakapo became isolated from the remaining parrot species when New Zealand broke off from Gondwana, around 82 million years ago. Around 30 million years ago, the kakapo diverged from the genus "Nestor". Earlier ornithologists felt that the kakapo might be related to the ground parrots and night parrot of Australia due to their similar coloration, but this is contradicted by recent studies; rather, the cryptic colour seems to be adaptation to terrestrial habits that evolved twice convergently. The kakapo is a large, rotund parrot; the adult can measure from in length, and weight can vary from at maturity. Males are larger
Kakapo Fiordland as a nature reserve. In 1894, the government appointed Richard Henry as caretaker. A keen naturalist, Henry was aware that native birds were declining, and began catching and moving kakapo and kiwi from the mainland to the predator-free Resolution Island. In six years, he moved more than 200 kakapo to Resolution Island. By 1900, however, stoats had swum to Resolution Island and colonised it; they wiped out the nascent kakapo population within 6 years. In 1903, three kakapo were moved from Resolution Island to the nature reserve of Little Barrier Island (Hauturu-o-Toi) north-east of Auckland, but feral cats were