Kakapo "The Unnatural History of the Kakapo" won two major awards at the Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival. Two of the most significant documentaries, both made by NHNZ, are "Kakapo – Night Parrot" (1982) and "To Save the Kakapo" (1997). The BBC's Natural History Unit also featured the kakapo, including a sequence with Sir David Attenborough in "The Life of Birds". It was also one of the endangered animals Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine set out to find for the radio series and book "Last Chance to See". An updated version of the series has been produced for BBC TV, in
Kakapo by 1976 the kakapo was gone from the valley floors and only a few males survived high on the most inaccessible parts of the cliffs. Before 1977, no expedition had been to Stewart Island/Rakiura to search for the bird. In 1977, sightings of kakapo were reported on Stewart Island. An expedition to the island found a track and bowl system on its first day; soon after, it located several dozen kakapo. The finding in an 8,000-hectare area of fire-modified scrubland and forest raised hope that the population would include females. The total population was estimated at 100 to 200 birds.