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 Mustelids have never colonised Stewart Island/Rakiura, but feral cats were present. During a survey, it was apparent that cats killed kakapo at a rate of 56% per year. At this rate, the birds could not survive on the island and therefore an intensive cat control was introduced in 1982, after which no cat-killed kakapo were found. However, to ensure the survival of the remaining birds, scientists decided later that this population should be transferred to predator-free islands; this operation was carried out between 1982 and 1997. In 1989, a Kakapo Recovery plan was developed, and a Kakapo Recovery programme was