Open home: Google Earth allows kākāpō pundits to take virtual tour of the parrot's habitat

Sport Planning Editor·NZ Herald·

19 Sep, 2018 10:54 AM2 mins to read

Google has provided people worldwide a unique view to the Kākāpō. Photo / File

Google Earth is providing a rare insight into the homes of kākāpō, providing a virtual tour of their homes on Codfish and Anchor Islands.

The New Zealand parrot is critically endangered and only a handful of conservation staff, volunteers and visitors are able to set foot on the islands each year.

But now everyday people from around the world can take a private, 360-degree panoramic view of kākāpō in their natural habitat.

Google teamed up with the Department of Conservation and Ngāi Tahu to capture the imagery in November last year.

Planning and capturing the footage took months due to the remote locations and strict quarantine requirements on the predator-free islands.

The images can now be seen by people around the world after it launched globally on Google Maps and Google Earth earlier this week.

Sir David Attenborough lent support by providing narration in a video about kākāpō and their protected island habitats.

Kākāpō science advisor from DoC, Dr Andrew Digby, said it is a fantastic way to share the kākāpō with the world.

"No one forgets their first kākāpō encounter. We want lots of people to be able to see them, but with just 148 individuals, few get the chance.

"Google provides a way for everyone to experience kākāpō, the special places in which they live, and some of the work that we do to protect them.

"We're grateful to Google for making this happen, and particularly to Sir David Attenborough for his support."

Matt Jenke from Google New Zealand said rough conditions on the islands made capturing the kākāpō difficult.

"Crawling through dense bush with an 18kg camera on your back isn't easy.

"Kākāpō are also extremely good at camouflage, often we'd search for an hour or so only to look down and find one sitting just metres away.

"The payoff is significant, we hope the images raise awareness of the work being done to protect the kākāpō, a taonga of Ngāi Tahu and much loved by New Zealanders and fans all over the world."